Working daily on the seat for eight hours or more can beat up your back. And this explains why many office workers are embracing ergonomic office chairs. Of course, that's an impressive development but do you know that supporting the chair with a seat cushion guarantees you a healthier work-life?
Also known as an office chair seat pad, a seat cushion is an indispensable addition to every ergonomic workstation. And it offers both office and remote workers much-needed comfort and support. Meanwhile, it's a cost-effective means of promoting your productivity and health at work. So it's very affordable for every office worker.
But what are the factors you need to consider before investing in one? No worries, we're here to help you. We'll also show you the different types of seat cushions on the market and their significance.
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What are the Advantages of a Perfect Seat Cushion?
The primary and most important benefit of a seat cushion is that it chases back pain far away from you. Thanks to the seat cushion, the pressure and strains that often weigh down your tailbone when you sit for long hours will be rendered helpless. And you'll be able to live a life free of pain and discomforts.
Here are other benefits of using seat cushions.
Boosts Your Posture
It's common knowledge that our spines have natural curves. As such, whatever you sit on needs to fall in line with those curves to achieve premium wellness in our bodies. Meanwhile, sitting with the wrong posture has grave consequences on the curves and that's an invitation to lower back pain and other unimaginable health complications.
But there is a silver lining - using a seat cushion will help you boost your natural posture. Even if the curves have been affected due to your former chair, you can trust this accessory to help you adjust and eliminate all the associated pains.
Improves Blood Circulation
Some office chairs give little or no room for the hamstrings and buttocks. And the effect here's that the flow of blood to the lower region of the body gets slowed down. If this irregular posture continues without correction at the early stage, the body will soon find it difficult to carry oxygen and extract waste products.
But with a seat cushion, you have no cause for alarm. Even if your chair compresses the buttocks and lower region, the cushion will wipe out the forceful squeezing. It'll also enhance the rate at which blood circulates in your body. Thus, facilitating all-round cardiovascular wellness.
Seat Cushions Pave Way for Productivity and Comfort
It's no longer news that sitting for a long time affects one's comfort while working. But seat cushions are made with cooling gel and memory foams that'll improve your body anatomy. Even during hot seasons, they'll reduce the heat generated while sitting, and keep you relieved and refreshed, while you go about your daily works behind the office desk.
Furthermore, seat cushions also enhance productivity and employee efficiency. It keeps you focused, warm, and comfy while your energy level remains balanced. Eventually, all these lead to robust health and a deeper sense of security while working.
Seat Cushions Reduce the Tension and Compression on the Pelvis
You should not that excessive pressure on the tailbone, hips, or coccyx can lead to chronic fatigue and discomfort among people working in a sedentary environment. And as time goes on, the pain in the joints and spine becomes unbearable. But all these negativities can be prevented when you subscribe to an ergonomic seat cushion.
In other words, the quality of your work life and private life will improve and the tension finding its way to the pelvis and lower back will be dealt with.
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Varieties of Seat Cushions
There are different types of office chair seat pads if your workplace requires sitting for long hours and you need extra ease and comfort. But for this discourse, let's focus on cooling gel, memory foam, and heating cushions.
Cooling Gel
The uniqueness of the gel seat cushion comes into play when you sit on it while it cools down your body temperature. So if you're living in a hot region, the cooling seat cushion should work perfectly for you. Meanwhile, it'll also reduce the rate at which your body excretes sweat.
However, most of these seat cushions often add more than one type to give the user a more effective session.
Memory Foam Seat Cushions
This type of seat cushions is individualistic in the sense that it works based on each user's weight and body heat to align with your shape. With this attribute, memory foams are pretty good at giving your backside the much-needed support and succor.
These seat cushions are also user-friendly because it doesn't take much time for them to register your body shape. That is, they take time before returning to their factory-made shape.
Heated Seat Cushions
Unlike cooling gel cushions that are made for hot environments, heated seat cushions are specially designed for office workers in cold regions. The major feature here is that they use hot water or electricity to build up heat and keep the user's body lukewarm and glowing.
Heated seat cushions also relieve every sore muscle and ameliorate blood circulation. What a worthy cause to invest in!?
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Popular Seat Cushions for Your Use
Sleepavo Memory Foam Seat Cushion
Are you experiencing pain around your lower spine? We have a solution for you - Sleepavo seat cushion. This ergonomic seat pad has a special way of reducing the tension and weight heaped on your lower spine and evenly distributing them through the pelvic while you sit.
And to ensure your tailbone sits comfortably and maintains low pressure, the seat cushion has a U-shape design with a small part carved out. There's also a curved plane which makes sure there's an even distribution of your weight around your lower region. The idea is to minimize the back pain caused by excessive sitting all day.
Sleepavo seat cushion is also made of 3D mesh fabric which serves as a holder on the bottom so that it's not removed from your seat. The fabric also regulates the warmth of the seat cushion and it has a removable cover. Finally, you can wash it with a machine.
Everlasting Comfort Seat Cushion Pillow
Merely seeing this seat cushion, you'll know that it is heavily padded. But to what end? Everlasting Comfort is designed to give you a sitting posture where your hips will be more elevated than your knees.
So if you're tall and you'll like to have your office chair raised, this is the ideal cushion and it is more ergonomic than other brands. That's super exciting! The cushion pillow is made of high-tech memory foam so that your body shape will be retained after each use.
You can fully rest and rock the chair without the fear of the pillow slipping out of the seat. As a bonus, the ultrasoft slipcover has a non-slip base. Apart from your home office, you can also use Everlasting Comfort pillows for plastic chairs, stadium seats, and airplane seats, among others.
ErgoActive Cooling Gel Seat Cushion
Like every other cushion, ErgoActive Cooling Gel is built with a non-slip base to guarantee its stability. And thanks to the ingenuity of the designers, the seat cushion not only gives your spine correct positioning but also gets rid of every tension or pressure lurking around your hips and lower back.
In as much as you're consistently using it, the memory foam will retain your body shape and eliminate wrong sitting posture. As the name suggests, this office chair seat pad uses a cooling gel that minimizes heat generation while you work. Thus, your buttocks and back will be free of sweats.
And the seat cover is also washable.
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Factors to Consider Before Investing in a Seat Cushion
Durability
Who wants to end up with a product that wears out after a couple of weeks? Nobody. Thus, we will advise that you pay close attention to the brand you transact with. Do they have positive antecedents? If not, you should go for other brands whose reputation precedes them.
So how would you differentiate a more durable seat cushion? The manufacturers of standard cushions provide info on how long the products should stay active. And many offer warranties to prove that the durability is tested and reliable.
Shape
The effectiveness and durability of your seat cushion depend on its shape. So you need to be on alert to discover which shape will give you maximum satisfaction and efficiency. For example, U-shaped cushions ensure that your tailbone float over the sitting surface. This feature also pushes pressure away from your hips and coccyx.
However, this doesn't mean that seat cushions with other shapes don't have their good sides as well.
Material
Another important factor you need to consider is the material used in making the cushion and the cover. It is ideal to subscribe to seat cushions made of memory foam because they are designed to adjust to each individual's heat and body weight.
Memory foams are also the best in terms of promoting your spine's natural curves. As for the slipcover, it can be polyester, cotton, suede, or any other fabric. So what's the perfect choice? Mesh! Mesh slipcovers are exceptional because they not only cool down your body temperature but are also breathable.
It is also advisable to check if the cover material is washable. And if washable, by hand or by machine?
Purpose
Why get a seat cushion? That's another question you need to ask yourself. Is it even necessary? That's because we have various types available for different purposes. So we know that you don't want to buy a heated seat cushion when, in the real sense, you need a cushion that keeps you chilled.
Weight
A seat cushion should possess premium weight to easily stabilize the user. So what if it's too light? Your body weight and compression won't be properly distributed across the surface. And if it's too heavy, you might find it difficult to adjust while working. Therefore, you need to go for a cushion with an accurate weight for optimal performance.
Size
You wouldn't want to get a seat cushion that fulfills all the above requirements but is too big or too small to enter the office chair. So you have to prioritize the size of the seat cushion you're eyeing.
Final Words
The perfect seat cushion is one that effortlessly supports your back and buttocks. It should also free the pressure around or on your lower back, hips, coccyx, and tailbone. Now that we have recommended the major seat cushion makers in the industry, it's your turn to take action!
Start exploring all these options until you find the cushion that enhances your ease and comfort at work.
