How to lounge ergonomically?

December 24, 2023 8:28 PM

When I watch or read things, I prefer to sit up in bed covered in blankets. I like slouching and putting my feet up on things. Sitting up straight makes me feel like I'm in the army. My body is starting to dislike my terrible posture, though. How can I sit in a way that's good for my long-term health but feels cozy, not rigid?
posted by wheatlets to Health & Fitness (8 answers total)

Have you tried a zero gravity chair?
posted by expialidocious at 11:25 PM on December 24, 2023

Swedish ball?
posted by gible at 12:14 AM on December 25, 2023

The way you lounge isn't hurting your posture, it's a lack of exercise and core muscle strength. Good posture is a lot easier when your body can hold itself in balance without strain. Perhaps start a 7-minute workout program to ease yourself into it? (I am perhaps assuming a lot, but on the other hand my standing posture is great despite all the time sitting like a bisexual; I also work out 30 minutes a day.)
posted by seanmpuckett at 5:15 AM on December 25, 2023 [3 favorites]

This is going to sound shitty bc the “solution” for me was a WILDLY EXPENSIVE chair, but maybe it’ll spark ideas.

I have terrible posture and an extreme lounger and often have neck pain. A couple years back I made a massive splurge on a Womb chair, a piece of furniture I’d always loved and wanted. I’d never actually sat in one - but let me tell you, it’s life changing LOL. The biggest thing for me is that it supports my neck basically anywhere you can sit on it and you can curl up in all kinds of angles. I also have the ottoman so it’s supremely wonderful for this. There are knock off versions that I haven’t sat in that are still pretty expensive but much more affordable if it’s something you might wanna look into.

This doesn’t help with general lounging, BUT the key factors for me are making sure I have lumbar and neck support. We have a great couch but it doesn’t have any neck support so I’ll often toss a pillow on top of the back for my neck and make sure I’m upright so the couch cushion is maximum lumbar supporting me.

Other than that, I just try to make sure I’m as untwisted up as possible, legs and all. And maybe most critically, if I’m on my phone or laptop I try to keep it at eye level. I play a lot of games on my iPad and I’ll stack it on top of a thick couch pillow so I’m not angling my neck down at it. I’ve found this feels like nothing but makes a HUGE difference.
posted by caitcadieux at 8:51 AM on December 25, 2023 [4 favorites]

My back improved significantly when I set up my office chair such that the back of the chair isn't locked in one position and my core muscles were holding me up. And it improved further when I started pilates classes. Some positions are clearly more comfortable than others, and another (potentially overlapping) set of positions are less bad for your back, but really your own core strength is probably what will help the most.
posted by plonkee at 12:11 PM on December 25, 2023 [1 favorite]

My preferred way to sit is criss-cross. It works leaning back against pillows, or leaning forward with my elbows on my legs, and also let’s my torso be easily mobile for stretching.

+1 to exercises (especially core strengthening) to support your back and make a wider variety of postures comfortable.
posted by itesser at 2:52 PM on December 25, 2023 [1 favorite]

I suspect you may have some weak muscles and the bad ergonomics are exposing them as an underlying problem.

Over the phone or email, I'd get a GP's referral to a physiotherapist for "back/shoulder/neck pain". Maybe see a physio at a sports medicine clinic attatched to a university or college; people working at such are likely to be decent.

The physio can evaluate you and work out a tailored set of stretches and exercises (or bump you to an orthopedist as appropriate).

You can do some random stretches and exercises from a youtube recommendation or list online, but you're much better off 1) getting evaluated by someone formally trained to do so and who has seen a lot of bad cases so they know what they're looking at, 2) getting stretches and exercises designed based on that evaluation. It's very much not one-size-fits all, as much as algorithm-driven recommendations to "do this strech/exercise to relieve backpain" would lead one to believe. Four different people might have tight joints, loose joints, weak muscles, slipped disks, mild sciatica, etc.

For furniture, consider a reading pillow (amazon link) and a recliner.
posted by sebastienbailard at 9:00 PM on December 26, 2023

Mod note: [btw, this question has been added to the sidebar and Best Of blog]
posted by taz (staff) at 2:48 AM on December 30, 2023