What is WIDN
The World Interior Design Network is the leading global resource for the interior design industry brought to you by World Market Intelligence, one of the world's foremost publishers of interior design information
Product Inspiration
Browse our interior design product showcase, one of the largest and fastest growing collections of premium interior design products on the Internet.
Industry Research
World Market Intelligence publishes in-depth strategic intelligence reports, drawing on in-depth primary and secondary research, proprietary databases and high quality analysis from our expert teams.
New chair design helps improve heart function
Published: 06-Jun-2009
A research paper on ‘Office Chair Design’ presented at the American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Expo (AIHCE) in Toronto, Ontario (May 30-June 4), studies the effect of a ‘tapered’ chair on heart rate and over-all task efficiency, compared with a ‘broad-backed’ chair.
According to a research paper presented at the AIHCE 2009, office chair can have a potential impact on the performance of an employee, not only because it affects their posture and comfort, but their heart rate as well.
Richard Marklin Ph.D., of Marquette University in Wisconsin, presented “A General-Purpose Office Chair Reduces Heart Rate During Typical Office Tasks,” the master's thesis of Marquette University student Stephen Freier.
The study initially set out to examine how a new type of office chair could affect tidal volume, the total amount of air brought in during every breath and the respiratory rate (breaths per minute). A conventional office chair has a wide backrest at the shoulders to provide support, and narrows down at the waist and hips. A new general-purpose office chair design, meanwhile, features the opposite shape – wide at the bottom and narrow at the top.
Researchers estimated that the new chair would improve over-all breathing efficiency of the subjects. Reduced breaths, increased tidal volume and increased cardiovascular efficiency would lead to better productivity and performance in tasks.
The study was conducted on 31 participants, 15 men and 16 women with an average age of 36, who were asked to perform certain tasks in both standard office chairs and the new design. Each subject performed a sitting task for 30 minutes that was divided into 10 minutes of typing, 10 minutes of Internet searching, five minutes working in a spreadsheet and a five-minute break. Next, subjects reclined in the chair and watched a movie for 30 minutes, and then performed sitting tasks for another 30 minutes.
While Marklin hypothesized that the new chair might affect respiratory rate and tidal volume, the results instead indicated a change in heart rate. Of the 16 women, 13 women, and 11 of the 15 men had a lower heart rate while sitting in the new chair. Men exhibited a reduced heart rate of an average of eight beats per minute while for women, their heart rates decreased an average of four beats per minute. Age and gender did not appear to impact the results.
In effect, there was a reduced heart rate for every task. A slower heart rate, Marklin said, often is the sign of a more ‘efficient’ cardiovascular system and is a goal of many health or exercise regimens. “As resting heart rate decreases, the risk of death from cardiovascular disease decreases, as well,” he said.
Using an office chair that can contribute to a decreased resting heart rate, therefore may be considered positive for office employees. Marklin stressed that it was not clear whether the design caused the lower rate in the new chair or if a different factor played a role, such as the chair's fabric. Further studies are being conducted ed to segregate people according to the BMI (body mass index) to determine if smaller or larger body types are affected differently by the new chair designs.
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Stumble
Facebook
LinkedIn
Mail sent successfully
