There is a special quality to the comfort of chairs that is often overlooked, and that is the comfort factor.
Comfortable chairs are not just ones that are well designed, well made and use quality materials. The actual comfort of a chair goes beyond how easy it is to use and perform the tasks you need to when you are sitting down.
The comfort needs to go beyond the time that you sit in that chair and into the hours after you have gotten up.
A chair is supposed to help you assume a posture that can be sustained while you sit. A chair can be used for many different and often radically different reasons.
Sitting pretty
To choose a chair of your liking, you need to consider more than the look of it. The different factors to keep in mind include:
– Comfort
– Positioning
– Height and adjustability
– Movability
– Cleaning and maintenance
Using a chair that is uncomfortable is a recipe for disaster. It can be the start of problems with bad circulation, poor posture and stiffness throughout the body.
These issues can become serious and exacerbate other health problems.
The position in which you sit is crucial to your well-being.
Studies and medical research show that sitting for prolonged periods is detrimental to our overall health and, in particular, our brain activity.
A recent preliminary study from UCLA found that ‘more time spent sitting was linked to thinning of the brain’s medial temporal lobe.’ This is the part of the brain associated with memory formation.
Bad posture from uncomfortable chairs
The added problem with sitting in an uncomfortable chair is that you are more inclined to slouch and then adjust your posture to relax those muscles. It is this often innocuous everyday movement that can have long-lasting effects on your body in a negative way.
In a work situation, a chair that is uncomfortable can be very damaging. It is also an issue that should be addressed as a workplace health and safety concern.
In the home environment, having the wrong seating or a chair that causes problems is avoidable.
Whilst many people were forced to take up the challenge of working at home through the Covid lockdowns, it was in using chairs within a makeshift work area that became an issue.
It was here that people soon discovered that there were health problems associated with the chairs they used, and trying to make a dining chair into an office chair was one of the most dangerous of all.
Dining chairs are crafted and built for the purpose of sitting and eating at some form of a dining table. They are most often unsuitable for the purpose of a work chair and sitting at a desk.
Even those who used the dining chairs and dining table as a temporary workplace discovered the serious shortcomings of this seating and work arrangement.
Choosing the right chairs for your space
There are many aspects to choosing a chair, and it depends on the setting, use and position.
The furniture within the workplace, home or even a care facility needs to do more than serve one function.
There is a difference between boardroom chairs and meeting room chairs, especially when you consider the status of board members and the executive of a company and the more casual setting of a meeting room.
Both types of seating need to convey a message to those who will use it, especially when it comes to a prospective client meeting.
In the case of having the right kind of home office chairs, it makes sense to take into account who will be using or sharing that home office space.
It pays to get a chair that is both of high quality and clever design. If more than one person will be using that chair, then you need to have the ability to adjust and modify the seating position for comfort.
The obvious mistake to make is in thinking that you can cut corners by buying a cheap chair that will serve the most basic of purposes. You can also look more into office fit out ideas for inspiration to help you design a space that employees love to work in every day.
The settings for different chairs
Just as there are important factors to take into account in a business environment, there are specific needs for a care facility or hospital setting.
In the case of an aged care environment, it is important to consider who you are ordering your equipment from and how trusted the make of that equipment is for the user and carer.
Using the most trusted aged care equipment suppliers can have more advantages than you might realise. The dependence on this specialised equipment is vital for the level of care provided.
Having a patient or client with mobility issues and specific needs related to rest and recovery that beds, chairs and other apparatus need to meet.
Then there is the matter of bariatric equipment, which involves the care of those with special weight needs.
Without the correct devices and equipment for individual needs such as these, the ability to offer the best in care is undermined.
Making sure things are fit for purpose
The elements of comfort and performance are critical to the use of furniture and, more specifically, chairs.
It is clear that having the best possible and most reliable options can bring added value and benefits to the end user.
The comfort factor plays a key role in the performance of tasks and affects the well-being of everyone, from the office staff and employees working from home to the patient in care.
If the furniture and equipment are not fit for purpose and are purchased purely on the basis of aesthetics and price, then there can be a range of serious issues that come to play.
Talking to experts in the field can give you a wealth of knowledge to draw from and help guide you to the best choice in supplier and their products. You can enjoy the comfort of having made the right decision for years to come.