It's no secret that sitting all day can significantly impact your health. A sedentary lifestyle can cause back pain and put you at risk for chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes. However, this is hard to control when you have a job that requires you to sit for long hours during the day.
The good news is research suggests that active sitting using wobble chairs can boost productivity, energy levels, and movement. If you're wondering if wobble chairs are suitable for your workplace, it's time to learn more about the real health benefits they can bring.
Make sure to keep reading this guide to learn ways seven wobble chairs can improve your workplace wellness!
1. Helps Core Muscle Strength
Your core muscles are a group of muscles that control and stabilize the spine and pelvis. Strong core muscles are essential for holding you upright, allowing the spine to bend and move normally. They also aid in postural support and balance.
Different muscles make up your core muscles, which include:
- Rectus abdominis or six-pack ab muscles
- Obliques or muscles on your sides
- Erector spine or the muscles next to your spine
- Lower back and hip muscles
- Diaphragm or breathing muscle
- Pelvic floor muscles
When your core is stable, it can help prevent overuse injuries and make recovering from acute injuries more manageable. In addition, weak pelvic floor muscles can lead to problems with bladder control.
As you age, you can experience degenerative changes in the spine. Your bones and cartilage become weaker and are much more susceptible to wear and tear. Sitting all day at work can impact your core muscles by making them weaker.
Even more, sitting bent over in a chair all day doesn't engage your abdominal muscles. You'll also experience back pain and muscle stiffness.
Sitting in a wobble chair like this Active Task Chair allows you to keep moving throughout the day. You can lean, balance, and move in a circular motion which causes you to actively engage your core muscles. As a result, you'll have stronger core muscles and less back pain overall.
2. Allows You to Stretch Tense Muscles
One of the most significant benefits of wobble chairs is that they keep you moving. When you sit all day, your hip, upper back, and chest muscles tend to tighten up. If you don't use an ergonomic chair and have bad posture, you'll cause compression to your spinal disks.
Eventually, this can lead to a herniated disk. Herniated disks are also known as bulging or slipped discs. Disks act as cushions between your vertebrae, allowing you to bend and twist normally. A herniated disk occurs when the outer layer of the disk weakens. Once this happens, the inner jelly-like layer will leak out. This can put pressure on various spinal nerves causing numbness, weakness, and pain.
One of the most common causes of herniated disks is sitting in the same position for prolonged periods. In addition, you can experience disk degeneration, leading to problems with chronic pain.
The great thing about wobble chairs for adults is that they allow you to change position often. This constant motion takes the pressure off your disks and allows you to move and stretch. Not only will you feel less pain, but you'll also improve your spine health overall.
3. Improves Your Posture
It's important to realize that good posture isn't only about sitting straight. Good posture has a major impact on your long-term health. In fact, good posture can prevent injuries, back pain, and health conditions like joint degeneration and headaches.
Poor posture can affect your health in other ways too, which include:
- Decreases flexibility
- It makes it harder to breathe normally
- Affects digestion
- Affects joint mobility
- Causes neck and shoulder pain
- Affects your balance
- Misaligns your musculoskeletal system
- It makes your spine more prone to injuries
Posture is about how you hold your body, and there are two types of posture. First, dynamic posture is how you carry yourself during physical activities like running or walking.
The second type is static posture which involves how you hold yourself when not moving. Examples of static posture include how you sit, stand, or sleep.
Having good posture means you have good static and dynamic posture.
The position of your spine defines how good your posture is overall. Keep in mind that your spine actually has three natural curves. These curves are at your neck, middle back, and lower back. Correct posture involves maintaining these natural curves properly.
To do this, your head should be positioned above your shoulders, and the top of your shoulders need to be over your hips. You can improve your posture by switching positions often and taking brief walks.
While sitting, you must ensure your feet touch the floor and your back is completely supported. Since wobble chairs allow for active sitting, they can help you to improve your posture. With a wobble chair, you can change your position often and stretch your muscles to relieve tension.
4. Reduces Pain
Sitting still for prolonged periods causes serious disruption in your muscles, tendons, and ligaments. You can experience neck, back, leg, and arm pain from sitting all day. It also puts pressure on your back muscles and disks.
Many people who sit all day for work experience lower back pain which can become chronic if something doesn't change. Since the back is connected to the neck and shoulders, you can easily experience pain in these areas. These aches and pains typically come and go and are a sign that your spine is not aligned correctly due to muscle strain.
Wrist strain is also common since you're typing in a specific position all day. Most of the time, you'll be hunched forward while doing this, which impacts the blood flow to the hands. As a result, you'll experience soreness, tingling, and numbness.
All in all, when you don't have proper workplace ergonomics, you can experience damage to your spinal structures over time. Having a wobble chair at work is one of the best ways to relieve pain and help your body stay in alignment.
You can consider getting a wobble stool to keep you active during the day. Wobble stools naturally tilt, allowing you to control your movements. You'll be able to sit, stand, and move more, reducing your pain.
5. Can Increase Productivity
The truth is that sedentary behaviors are prevalent in the United States. Many people have desk jobs and spend much of their day commuting to and from work. In addition, surfing the internet and watching TV are popular pastimes.
Sitting not only impacts your physical health but your mental health too. First, sitting too long can put you at risk for anxiety and depression. This is because sedentary behavior impacts the brain, increasing the risk of anxiety and depression. It also affects your physical health, putting you at risk for chronic illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.
Even people who exercise 30 minutes daily and sit for the rest of the day are still at risk for physical and mental health problems.
Since stationary sitting can cause pain and tension, it also affects focus and productivity during the day. You'll feel less alert and have a decrease in energy levels overall. This is due to a lack of blood flow to major organs. You'll also have less blood flow to your brain, causing you to feel more tired.
Active sitting with wobble chairs gives you the movement you need to boost your productivity levels. You won't feel as much pain during the day and will feel more alert since the extra activity will get your blood flowing more.
6. Improves Circulation
Proper circulation is vital for your health and well-being. It keeps blood flowing through your body, allowing your organs to function as they should. Good circulation keeps your brain focused and your heart healthy and helps wounds heal quickly.
Circulation also impacts your immune system since specific blood cells that fight infections circulate in your bloodstream.
Chronic illnesses like high blood pressure and diabetes can cause poor circulation. Additionally, smoking and inactivity can have a significant effect. If you have poor circulation, you'll experience symptoms like:
- Cold hands and feet
- Lack of energy
- Lack of concentration
- Thinning hair
The great news is that there are simple things you can do each day to improve your circulation. The most important step is to get your body moving more. You can start by taking short walks every day for 5 to 10 minutes at a time and gradually increase your activity.
You can even do activities while sitting that will significantly improve your circulation. First, you can place both feet on the floor and raise both heels for 3 to 5 seconds at a time, holding for 5 seconds.
You can also try ankle rotations. To do this, keep both feet on the floor, and lift one foot. Rotate your ankle clockwise ten times and then ten times counterclockwise. Repeat ten times with your other foot.
Luckily, you can use a wobble chair to help with these exercises and improve your circulation. Once you're sitting down, you can form a routine of moving forwards, backward, and side to side. While doing this, you can do ankle rotations, and leg raises. You'll be able to be productive at work each day while keeping your blood pumping.
7. Burns More Calories
One of the biggest problems with a sedentary lifestyle is that you burn fewer calories overall. If you sit at your desk most of the day for work, you don't have the opportunity to burn as many calories. Driving to work and taking transportation also involves a lot of sitting. The reality is you're likely sitting for more of the day than you realize.
If you aren't eating a healthy diet, you can put yourself at risk for obesity. When you're obese, you're at risk for chronic diseases like high cholesterol and heart disease. You're also more likely to develop type 2 diabetes.
One of the best parts of losing weight is having more energy for the activities you love. You'll be able to focus more and be more productive with work activities. Finally, your metabolism will also increase since you'll have more muscle.
If you plan to increase your activity levels, you must do it slowly. This is because many people lack time to join a gym and include aggressive workout plans in their daily routines.
The trick to doing this is to incorporate more activity while working during the day. You'll need to make small changes that you can stick to long-term.
While you can get up from your chair hourly and take the stairs instead of the elevator, you'll also need to get moving while sitting.
Therefore, having a wobble chair is the perfect addition to your weight loss plan. With a wobble chair, you can keep moving all day long even while you're still working. Have some fun with it, and try moving back and forth several times per hour.
Whichever way you decide to do this, just ensure that you keep moving. Doing this keeps your muscles engaged and the calories burning.
Invest in Wobble Chairs Today
Now that you know the fantastic ways wobble chairs improve workplace wellness, you'll feel much more comfortable investing in one.
If you're looking for high-quality wobble chairs, you can turn to Uncaged Ergonomics for all your needs. We've been creating unique and affordable office furniture and other products since 2010. Our customer service team will listen to your feedback and answer questions every step of the way.
You can choose from a variety of chairs, including Wobble Stools or an Active Task Chair. While browsing, you can also check out our standing desks and other ergonomic furniture and equipment.
Make sure to visit our website today to see our wobble chairs and find a chair that works for you!