Health care has become a significant issue of concern globally, especially since the pandemic's beginning. A considerable percentage of the population has paid close attention to health, from the elderly who are frail, pregnant women, people working long hours to those suffering from chronic pain. Since the pandemic, a notable number of people have begun to use products using linear technology, especially standing desks, which is popular among those working from home. In addition to a standing desk, there are still many other kinds of products benefiting from linear technology, and helping improve our daily life experience and health.
What is linear technology?
The term is derived from linear, meaning something that moves in a straight line instead of a curve. Linear technology is a type of technology that converts rational motion into straight or linear movement in motors. They are ideal for lifting, pushing, tilting, or pulling applications. Specifically, electric linear actuators are usually the preferred solution if you need a safe, clean and straightforward movement with smooth control of motion and accurate precision.
Linear technology is widely used in several industries. There are four primary linear technology applications in the four industries: healthcare, comfort furniture, desks, and industrial applications. And here are some examples below.
Healthcare
In hospitals, various machinery and systems are used to diagnose and improve patients' lives. In today's world, most of this machinery and systems are equipped with linear technology or actuators that help improve work inefficiencies in medical departments, enhance patient care, and reduce stress by making work easier for medical professionals. The medical actuator application in healthcare can be seen in hospital beds and laser equipment. Hospital beds are usually designed for patient recovery, and the beds are endowed with medical actuators which assist in lowering and raising the bed height.
They are also valuable for repositioning dissimilar beds of sections at different angles to achieve a comfortable sitting or sleeping position. Linear and electrical actuators are the most common medical actuators for such an application.
For laser equipment, laser surgery has become popular because of the myriad health benefits that come with it. Laser equipment should be positioned correctly for desired outcomes. The beam can cause harm to the patient if factors like accuracy, positioning, and stability are not appropriately controlled. It is here that linear actuators are used to control the positioning and accuracy of the laser beam in the laser equipment.
Workstation
Recently there has been an increase in ergonomics globally at the workplace. Several scientific research shows that frequently changing posture aid in improving the health of employees and facilitates them staying productive all day long. For this reason, height-adjustable desks have been invented, with easy installation and a flexible design. The intelligent actuator for desks is usually assembled with steel desk legs as lifting columns, which allow the users to adapt to the height during different moments and requirements. The lifting column performance varies from different manufacturers. FlexiSpot, as one of the early linear technology manufacturers, offers a great number of standing desk options with various height adjustment ranges, lifting speed, heavy capacity, and additional functions. Besides, there are also other linear technology applications in workstation products, such as desk converters and monitor arms. These kinds of products help make the monitor fit the user’s personal requirement in a more ergonomic way.
Comfort furniture
Linear actuators have also been applied to pieces of comfort furniture such as sofas and reclining chairs to lower and raise back and leg components. The electric recliner varies from the traditional recliners since they have adopted linear actuators that are more flexible. The linear actuators contain a self-locking function that stops the backrest from reclining in case of a power shortage, ensuring safety. There is kitchen equipment containing electrical actuators that are height adjustable for easy access to everyone in the house. Worktops, wall units, and hoods can adjust to your height requirements and allow you to adopt a more ergonomic and comfortable posture. They can bring mobility and versatility to spaces by transforming worktops into bar tops or dining tables.
Industrial application
Linear technology has several industrial applications, and various companies offer products that assist with high-speed operations, high-level control, and seamless integration of components into control systems for automation. For example, linear actuators could help to improve productivity and cost efficiency by applying linear actuators into excavators, welding, and punching machines. The industrial linear actuators usually have heavier duty capacity and higher IP levels than those applied in home applications, since industrial equipment usually works in outdoor and sometimes even extreme environments.
How linear technology can help improve our health
As mentioned above, there are many various applications of linear technology. However, regarding our daily life usage, two main linear technology products help our health condition: standing desk and the adjustable bed base.
Standing desks improve ergonomic health.
Standing desks come in two varieties, namely the manual one and the modern desk. The former is typically the cheaper of the two and uses a crank that you turn and adjust the desk’s height. On the other hand, the latter utilizes programs that let you change the desk’s height at the push of a button; some have programmable presets that let you adjust to a specific level for consistency. In this regard, the benefits of standing desks include:
1. Increases your energy and mood
A standing desk helps create the movement you need to deliver oxygen to the brain and improve blood circulation, increasing your attentiveness and energy. Sitting for more than seven hours daily increases distress signs compared to sitting for fewer hours. Standing at your desk reduces fatigue, depression, and tension and improves your mood.
2. Lowers risk of diseases and boosts productivity.
A less physically active lifestyle is the number four leading cause of mortality worldwide. More standing has always been linked to lower strokes, heart rates of heart attack, and diabetes. Also, standing at your desk raises productivity by up to 45%.
3. Reduces back pain
Back pain is among the most common complaints by workers. Sedentary lives have set the pandemic in action, with 4 out of 5 adults experiencing back pains. Human beings are not meant to sit for prolonged periods, and studies have shown that standing desks can momentously reduce the risk of back pain by breaking up your everyday routine.
4. Improve posture and facilitate tone muscles.
We use more muscles to stand compared to sitting. Standing can help strengthen your foot, ankle, and leg muscles during your working days. You have to stand correctly and not slouch for this to be beneficial. Using a standing desk can help you stand in the correct posture.
With the FlexiSpot standing desk, you can enjoy all these benefits because it contains a powerful dual-motor lifting system, enhanced safety features, good bamboo quality, and streamlined aesthetics. Find more information here!
Adjustable bed provides healthy sleeping positions.
Another primary application that become popular in our daily life is an adjustable bed. An adjustable bed has several mechanical parts: the moving joints, the controller, the bar for the retainer, and the sleeping surface. The key component of the bed is the adjustable base that holds your mattress. By utilizing a motorized power base, the adjustable bed enables you to raise the bed’s base to 40 or 70 degrees; some advanced models let you adjust the bottom side. Some of the health benefits include:
1. Ensures proper circulation
The quality of sleep you have depends on the quality of circulation in your system. During sleep, the pressure reduces blood flow to the pressured body parts, impacting your sleep quality. An adjustable bed base can assist you with sleeping positions that reduce pressure ad allow increased blood flow to the entire body and the heart.
2. Heal's snoring, sleep apnea, and asthma.
The reason why most people snore is because of lying flat. Sleeping with this position prompts the neck to apply pressure on the windpipe, closing, leading to snoring. An adjustable bed frame can lift the head to generate gravity which takes the pressure away from the windpipe and reduce snoring. With an adjustable bed base, you can sleep at an angle that enhances airflow and allows comfortable nights.
3. Reduces leg swelling.
Several people suffer from swollen legs, such as pregnant women, those with injured limbs, and the sick. Lying on a standard flatbed makes the fluid in your body gather in strategic areas, and this results in pain, swelling, inflammation and makes waking up a constant struggle every morning. Medical experts suggest that legs need to be elevated to steer clear of fluid accumulation, to increase comfort during sleep. By adjusting the base of your bed, you can reduce swelling by raising your leg.
4. Reduces insomnia
Regardless of your insomnia, an adjustable bed gives you different sleeping positions that lead to comfort. Marinating a good sleep position enhances oxygen and blood circulation and brings out the ease that makes you sleep.
With the FlexiSpot adjustable bed, you can enjoy all these benefits because it is comfortable and offers better quality sleep, is durable and stable, and can accommodate the particular preference of sleep.
