Modern-day jobs mostly require people to sit at their computers for up to eight hours per day. If your job demands that you sit at a desk all day long, you’ll need to practice good sitting posture. To maintain a good office sitting position, you’ll have to be conscious of how you sit while working.
Maintaining the correct sitting position straightens your back and balances movement while walking and exercising. Also, it reduces wear and tear on your joints and reduces muscle strain risk.
But how do we know the best way to sit while working in the office? Everything’s explained here.
Correct Office Sitting Position
Sometimes, the chairs we sit on can influence our sitting posture while working. You’ll need good office chairs for maximum productivity to enhance your output.
Getting the correct office sitting position depends on your height, the type of chair, and the activity performed while sitting. However, these simple steps will help you properly align your back and allow your body to settle in the best position.
- Firstly, sit upright on the chair with your back straight, shoulders relaxing in a natural position, and your bottom meeting the end of the chair.
- Keep your feet flat on the floor or the footrest, and avoid crossing your knees and ankles.
- Leave a little space between the chair and your knees and position the knees such that they’re at the same level as your hips or slightly lower.
- Keep the forearms and knees parallel to the floor with your elbows by your side.
- Sit up straight and look at your computer without straining your neck.
- Lastly, avoid sitting for long periods. Ideally, you should take a ten-minute break for every hour of sitting.
Bad Office Sitting Positions
Anything that causes overuse of specific muscles, tendons, joints and ligaments is a bad sitting posture and negatively affects your overall health.
Now that we know how to correctly sit while at work, let’s look at the wrong sitting positions to avoid.
- Sitting in a position that doesn’t perfectly align the back.
- Suspending the feet or not giving proper support to the feet.
- Straining the neck for a long time while looking at the computer
- Slumping to one end of the chair can bend your spine.
- Sitting for long periods without taking a break
- Crossing the knees, arms or ankles.
Ways to Positively Influence Sitting Posture While Working on the Computer
1. Get an Ergonomic Chair
Ergonomic chairs are designed to support proper sitting positions while ensuring you get your desired comfort level.
Also, good office chairs are flexible, and you should ensure proper eye-to-screen position while balancing on the chair for better productivity.
2. Keep a Good Distance Between Your Keyboard and Mouse
To prevent unnecessary changing of sitting position, ensure your keyboard and mouse are at a reasonable distance from you.
The keyboard should face your computer directly and leave about four inches of space to the mouse to give the wrists enough room to rest while typing.
Also, your mouse should be easy to reach and on the same surface as the keyboard. Purchasing an ergonomic mouse helps curb wrist pain and feels convenient while using.
3. Keep Frequently Used Items Within Reach
Asides from your keyboard and mouse, other items like your notepad, phone, stapler and pens should be easily within reach.
Stretching to reach items can cause muscle strains and prolonged wrist pains. Therefore, ensure regularly used objects are within your distance to avoid joint pains.
4. Ensure Regular Breaks
Sitting for too long can reduce blood flow and lead to fatigue. To avoid this, take frequent breaks while working. You can stand up and stretch your muscles for a few minutes before continuing.
For every 30 minutes, you can take a 5-minute break by walking around and doing some shoulder shrugs, and calf raises. This will allow proper blood flow to the joints and other body parts.
Conclusion
The demands of modern-day jobs may require us to sit all day long. However, that is detrimental to our health, and we should always try to maintain proper posture while working. Bad sitting postures can lead to short and long-term body defects, and we’re sure you wouldn’t want that.
Therefore, you need a conscious approach to improving your posture and investing in ergonomic products is an excellent way to start. This will help prevent wear and tears on your joints and muscles over time.
Thankfully, technological advancement makes it possible to invent ergonomic chairs, desks, and other office items that make work more efficient. If you need any of these convenient office items, FlexiSpot has you covered. We have a range of products, including items that’ll keep you organized at work.
Remember, maintaining a good sitting position starts with a deliberate effort and with time, you’ll get used to sitting correctly while at work.
