These issues, Lueder points out, are more relevant to people in their mid-40s or older. Lueder adds that elevating the legs helps make it easier to lean back, and at the same time brings the legs up closer to the heart, which can relieve leg edema and foot swelling and lower the heart rate. Leaning backward, on the other hand, can take pressure off the spine and help relax the muscles. Photo by Peterssen/Keller Architecture - Original photo on Houzz When we strain our ligaments, we lose the ability to send feedback to our brain, and this makes us more likely to injure ourselves. However, in the past decade, research has shown that ligaments provide information to our brain to let us know how we are sitting. “We think we are comfortable hunching forward, because our muscles relax as we shift the loads to our ligaments.” Lueder adds that in the past, ligaments were thought of as being kind of like ropes, with minimal nerve feedback and circulation. “We often don’t realize how much harm we do to ourselves while sitting in slumped forward postures,” says ergonomics expert Rani Lueder of Humanics Ergonmics in Austin, Texas. Sitting forward to compensate then leaves the back unsupported and encourages slouching. One of the tenets of good ergonomic design is foot support a lack of it, as evidenced by dangling legs, puts stress on pressure points behind the knees and backs of the legs. While a dedicated sofa for each family member is likely out of the question, other seating pieces can provide a better fit. Ever see a petite woman engulfed in an overstuffed sofa with her legs dangling off the edge of the cushion? It not only looks goofy, it’s not healthy. We come in all shapes and sizes, so it’s unlikely that the scale of a major seating piece, such as a sofa, is appropriately sized for everyone in the home - or is adjustable in height like an office chair. Unlike with an adjustable work chair, one of the challenges with seating at home is that it’s typically shared among different family members. Sitting in a comfy chair and putting one’s feet up has long been a way of relaxing after a hard workday. While office applications have prospered in the ergonomic limelight, less focus has been paid to residential design, especially seating. In interior design it’s a term that has been grounded more in commercial design, with much attention devoted to efficient and supportive desk chairs and workstations. Photo by ROMABIO / Interior & Exterior Mineral Based Paints - original photo on HouzzĮrgonomics deals with designing and arranging things so that people can use them easily and safely.
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