Computer and gaming chairs - how to sit correctly

With computers, laptops, the internet and both online and console gaming becoming an integral part of many people's lives, the chairs that they use for these activities are becoming increasingly important.

One of the main factors identified as causing an increase in back problems is computer and gaming use. This is because many people, particularly when at home, do not use a suitable chair when operating these devices. This means that they will probably adopt an unsuitable posture and have their head at the wrong height, level and distance from any monitor or screen that they use.

Often, people using laptops or playing games will sit on an easy chair or even the floor. This is never healthy for these kinds of activities and if the person is operating a laptop that is literally on their lap, the shape of their back and spine and the way in which it is supported will be detrimental to their health.

The seating solution

If you are using a computer or laptop there are a number of rules that you should follow and most of these rules will apply equally to gamers.

Firstly, you need to sit on a chair that allows you to take an upright seating posture. The angle between your upper and lower legs should be about 90 degrees and your feet should be resting (flat) on the floor.

The angle between your upper legs and your body should also be about 90 degrees, but ideally never less than this angle.

Your eye level should be roughly inline with the centre to the top of the screen or monitor that you are viewing – both vertically and horizontally. Many people have the monitor at too low a level and then tilt it upwards. This is incorrect.

If you are using a keyboard or console device this should be positioned so that you do not have to rotate your body in a direction away from the monitor in order to use it. This is a very common setup that is extremely bad over the long term.

This keyboard should also be at a height that corresponds with the height of your hands when the upper arms hang down vertically and the lower arms stretch out at 90 degrees.

Furthermore, you should not have to stretch to reach the keyboard, nor should you need to tilt your head backwards or forwards in order to get the monitor display in focus.

The best type of task chair

For computer use, a good office task chair is the ideal solution. These chairs come in various pricing categories, but you should balance the cost of one of these chairs against the amount of time that you intend to spend sat in it. If you will use it for several hours each day then it is an important part of your life and it warrants a reasonable expenditure.

It may also be worth considering buying a workstation type desk to accompany the chair. This will be designed to allow the monitor and keyboard height to be correctly set.

For gamers there are specialist gaming chairs, however the specialist aspect of these chairs is confined to the inclusion of sound systems rather than ergonomic back support. Care should be taken to limit the amount of time spent in a single session in these (and in fact in all) task chairs.

The future

As computers and gaming become a more integral part of people's lives so more and more thought and ergonomics are being put into their designs. Some of these designs are quite radical, but highly functional.

Already it is possible to buy a futuristic looking chair and workstation combo that not only performs, but looks stylish and uses space economically. For the moment these stations remain quite expensive, but their prices will come down.