5 best ergonomics chairs for indie hackers
The typical indie hackers I know work 50-70 hours a week, some even going up to 80 hours.
This means that for 8 hours or more a day, an indie hacker may be hunched over their monitor.
The likely underside of this is eyestrain, back discomfort, neck pain, along with hand or wrist problems.
When you sit down, the lumbosacral discs at the base of your spine are loaded three times more than standing.
Sitting is a posture that increases stress in the back, shoulders, arms, and legs. In addition, this posture can add large amounts of pressure to the back muscles and spinal discs.
If you use a chair that lacks adequate spine support for extended hours, you will end up stressing the soft tissues and joints in the spine, which leads to pain.
Wrong posture and a wrong chair can result in a compression of the discs in your spine and eventually lead to premature degeneration and chronic pain from flexed spinal curvature.
As a best practice, you should use a chair that provides dynamic sitting and encourages movement, particularly in the lower back and hips. It also needs to support the back and the neck too.
A good chair will keep you healthy without any pain or discomfort regardless of the length of time you spend seated.
Here are 5 ergonomic chairs that we recommend especially to computer programmers for their excellent back support and comfort, even with the long hours of work!
They may not be the cheapest chairs but definitely the comfiest.
Working hard and having back pain? Try PostureNet, a posture app on Mac
1. Humanscale Freedom Headrest Chair
Staring price: $1,499
General dimensions: 29"D x 25"W x 27"H
The Humanscale Freedom Headrest Chair has been described by The New York Times as “the gold standard in office seating.”
Designer Niels Diffrient aimed to redefine traditional task chairs, designing an office chair that automatically adapts to the user, seamlessly changing from one posture to the next.
The chair has a sophisticated weight-sensitive, self-locking recline mechanism that provides constant support to the back. In addition, the Freedom chair’s innovative pivoting backrest automatically adjusts to the needs of the spine.
It comes with refined and sculpted cushions that mimic the body’s natural contours and decrease pressure point loads for premium comfort.
The Freedom chair is also designed for durability even with 24/7 use. The Freedom Headrest is fitted with dynamic support that cradles the head and neck during recline but stays neutral when you are in an upright position.
2. Steelcase Leap Office Chair
Starting price: $950
Product link
General dimensions: 24.75" x 27" x 43.5"
The Steelcase Leep Office Chair is a great ergonomic chair designed for all-day use while providing maximum comfort and back support.
It offers height-adjustable lumbar and lowers back firmness control with a contoured backrest that changes shape as you move to support your entire spine, giving you long-term comfort.
The Steelcase Leep Office Chair has 4-way adjustable arms that move upwards and downwards, forwards and backward, and left and right to better support the neck and shoulders.
The Leap fits a wide range of body types with adjustable seat depth and pneumatic seat height adjustment.
Customers have described the Leap’s seat cushion as very comfy yet supportive.
The 5-position recline lock and the recline tension adjustment present the Leap as a very reliable chair.
3. Autonomous Premium 2021 Ergonomic Office Chair
Starting price: $520
General dimensions: 29"D x 29"W x 46"H
The Autonomous Ergonomic Office Chair is a sleek modern update designed for use in your gamer station, home office, or conference room. The chair is designed to boost your productivity with features to maintain comfort during those long working or gaming sessions.
It’s also is highly customizable with features including molded foam seat that slides forwards and backward, upwards and downwards.
You can lock or unlock the seat position for the Autonomous Ergonomic Chair to boost flexibility or for maximum support.
The chair’s 3D armrests move up and down, left to right, and forwards to backward to help you find the perfect resting position.
Its customizable tilt tension perfectly balances your weight. The 7-ways adjustable angle supports any sitting posture as you work or play.
The Autonomous Ergonomic Chair also allows you to customize support for your back, neck, and head, especially with the wide, curved headrest that raises, lowers and tilts up to 45° back.
The chair is also fitted with adjustable lumbar support that meets your back where you most need support. It also has a broad, five-wheel base that offers stability when rolling.
4. Herman Miller Embody Gaming Chair (our favorite)
Starting price: $1,795
General dimensions: 45" H 29.5" W 29" D
The Embody Gaming Chair is a brainchild of Herman Miller and Logitech G. It is fitted with features to support both work and play.
Built with the gamer in mind, the Embody Gaming Chair is ready to advance your play.
The Embody Chair’s seat is filled with new copper-fused cooling foam technology to prevent heat buildup with an additional foam layer for lasting comfort.
Tested and approved by ergonomic experts and pro gamers, the Embody Gaming Chair is engineered to support varied postures (from active and upright to reclined and relaxed), encourage movement in all directions, and eliminate the buildup of pressure.
That way, it allows for even pressure distribution for better balance and proper blood flow.
The Backfit™ Adjustment on the Embody Gaming Chair automatically conforms to your spine’s unique shape and movements, offering great support.
The Embody Gaming Chair’s arm height and width are adjustable, adding to the customized comfort for everyone.
5. Herman Miller: Aeron Chair
Starting price: $798
General dimensions: 41" H x 27" W x 16.75" D. Seat heights: 16"-20.5".
The Aeron Chair was designed by Don Chadwick and Bill Stumpf for Herman Miller.
This highly supportive seat has 3 back support: basic back support, adjustable lumbar support, and adjustable PostureFit Sacral/Lumbar support.
The chair comes fitted with two individual pads that flex independently and can be adjusted to fit the curve of your spine for that extra support.
The Aeron also has a Tilt Limiter that allows you to set the recline range for every posture.
The tension control on the Aeron is perfect for adjusting the amount of effort needed to recline comfortably.
The seat angle adjustment changes your seat angle from ‘neutral’ to ‘engaged’ to make things easy for you.
Did you know the Aeron also has fully adjustable arms that can adjust from a height of 6.8 inches above the seat to 10.8 inches above the seat, slide forward and backward over a range of 2.5 inches, and also pivot 15 degrees outward and 17.5 degrees inward? The Aeron is also a multi-surface caster with a quiet roll.
Conclusion
Regardless of the seat you choose, remember that comfort, support, and ergonomics come first in determining the right seat when shopping for one.
Remember, having the best chair, work desk, monitor, mouse, or keyboard supporting your overall ergonomics is not enough if your posture is poor.
With continued poor posture, even an ergonomic chair cannot save you from the long-term negative effects on your back and neck.
PostureNet is a Mac posture app that improves your posture while you work. It watches your posture and sends you a reminder when you slouch.
You can remain seated in a healthy position at all times.
Say goodbye to slouching and less back pain sounds good to you?
Try PostureNet, a posture app on Mac, and begin the incredible journey to a better posture!
