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The average adult in the United States spends approximately 6.5 hours per day sitting. For many, these hours are spent at work sitting in a desk chair. According to the Mayo Clinic, sitting for long periods of time is linked to several health concerns such as obesity, increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, and even an increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease and cancer.
While the obvious solution to mitigate these risks is to spend less time sitting, sometimes that is not achievable in a given work environment. Luckily, there are simple tools that help you take care of yourself while you sit and work – such as an ergonomic seat cushion.
Do You Need a Seat Cushion?
The best ergonomic seat cushions (also referred to as an ergonomic seat pad or chair pad), help to provide pelvic support while supporting your glutes, thighs and back.
If you spend your workday operating a desktop computer, you are likely engaged in prolonged periods of sitting. Regular chairs are shaped in a way that can squeeze your hips, misalign your pelvis and spine, and force your posture into a slumped position. Sitting in this way can cause pain and fatigue from the pressure exerted on your hips, along with long-lasting spine and joint problems.
There are also more serious consequences that you are less likely to observe: restricted blood flow in your pelvis, legs, and back that forces your heart to work harder to pump blood and circulate oxygen, for example, thereby lowering your cardiovascular health. That’s where an ergonomic seat cushion can help.
How Do Ergonomic Seat Cushions Work?
The best ergonomic seat cushions offer support by helping you sit with better posture, while redistributing the harmful compressive forces on your pelvis. Together, these attributes of its design help mitigate the dangers of prolonged sitting. When your body experiences less compressive pressure, your blood can flow more freely.
A bonus: some of the thicker seat cushions provide a literal lift, to help prop you up in your desk chair. The best ergonomic seat cushions are also great for the car, adding comfort for long car rides, and they’re great as dining chair seat pads as well.
While it is still recommended that you get up and stand as often as you can, the best ergonomic seat cushions help make your time sitting much more comfortable, to let you focus on productivity rather than pain.
