Power of ergonomic office chairs

Ergonomic chairs promote comfort, reduce physical discomfort, and positively impact mental health, leading to greater productivity and overall well-being.

Would a chair allow you to work better? This is what came to light in recent groundbreaking research that examined the effects of a comfortable chair on cognitive performance. Typically, when we think about ergonomics, we think about the physical aspects of how a chair interacts with the person sitting in it. But in this experiment, cognitive ergonomics became our focus, testing memory, attention, and mental flexibility (the brain's ability to easily transition between ideas or tasks); Basically, how can one person sitting in a chair think versus another.

In the experiment, the researchers used neurocognitive assessments. These tests focus on productivity and cognition, to examine participants' ability to think while sitting in three different office chairs:

• Not adjustable
• Highly adjustable
• Automatically adjustable (modern high back chairs)

Participants wore heart monitors, which measured heart rate variability (HRV), and an fNIRS device, which measured blood flow in the brain's frontal lobe, where creativity and decision-making occur. They performed tasks that relied on short-term memory, the ability to relax when conditions change, and cognitive flexibility, which is useful when you need to take a break from an expense report to respond to an important email and then return to work. tasks.

The research showed that when performing individual work, participants had a statistically lower HRV rate while sitting in an automatically adjustable chair (such as OFY and 2K8, in our catalog) in seven of the nine tests. The lower HRV rate indicates that participants experienced less stress and therefore felt more relaxed when sitting in these high-back chairs compared to the highly adjustable chairs and the non-adjustable chairs.

Furthermore, the cognitive criterion shift test showed that people made decisions more quickly, without losing accuracy, while sitting in the high-back chairs, compared to the other chairs in the experiment. Furthermore, the results showed that neural efficiency increased over time in people who sat in high-back chairs.

Stress and anxiety are common problems employees face, and having a comfortable, supportive chair can help alleviate some of these feelings. By providing a conducive work environment with ergonomic furniture, employers can positively impact the mental well-being and overall job satisfaction of their employees.

In conclusion, the choice of chair in the office can have a significant impact on the physical health, mental well-being and productivity of employees. Investing in high-quality ergonomic chairs not only benefits individual employees, but also contributes to an overall healthier and more positive work environment. Selecting the right chair can reduce stress in the office and contribute to a more comfortable and productive work experience for everyone.