Other than your gaming rig (PC or console), your game desk setup is what matters when it comes to elevating your gaming experience. And what better way there is to upgrade your gaming setup to a professional level than by getting yourself a comfortable gaming chair?
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Why buy a gaming chair?
A proper gaming chair will do a lot more than just make your gaming setup look similar to that of professional, top-ranked Twitch streamers. It will help you improve your sitting posture and lower the risk of postural syndrome which is common in many gamers who game for long hours.
If you play online games on a professional level and/or are into esports, bad sitting posture can take a toll on your gaming career over time. This is because the repercussions of bad sitting posture add to the physical and mental stress you already face as a professional gamer.
The overall gaming fatigue can, in turn, cause you to face burnout. Therefore, it’s important to maintain a habit of sitting with a good posture, and doing this becomes easier with a proper gaming chair.
The best gaming chair brands
Similar to gaming PCs, laptops, and consoles, gaming chairs come with a wide selection of features that are segregated with different price points. If you have plans to buy a new gaming chair, we’ve made the online gaming chair shopping process easier for you by compiling some of the best brands.
OFM Essentials
OFM Essentials, for the most part, caters to budget buyers. Although the brand has a wide range of regular desk/office chairs to offer, it has pretty cool gaming chairs as well. If you have a limited budget, go for a basic gaming chair from the brand.
Basic gaming chairs from OFM Essentials, including the Racing Style chairs, cover all the basic factors of maintaining proper sitting posture and ergonomics. They include contour padding, high headrest, reclining back, and height and arm adjustment.
Corsair
Corsair is another brand that covers all the important ergonomic functionalities in their basic gaming chairs. One of the best features of the brand’s T1 gaming chairs is they have 4D armrests. The 4D swivel design makes it easy for you to adjust the armrest in any direction or angle you want.
Respawn
If you want to up the comfort and ergonomics quotient without breaking the bank, Respawn is the brand to look out for. The brand’s gaming chairs feature contour padding, independent chair and footrest controls, cup holder, up to 360° reclining, removable side pouch, and even weight distribution.
AKRacing
If you are into the racing games genre, gaming chairs from AKRacing is what you’d want to explore. This is because the brand’s gaming chairs take racing-style inspiration to the extent that they use automotive-grade materials, including upholstery. Many gaming chairs from the brand also offer the option of enabling or disabling the chair rocking function.
Arozzi
Arozzi rarely offers fancy, top-of-the-line features such as heating and massaging. What the brand sure does is include posture-correction features such as lumbar support that are fine-tuned for proper gaming ergonomics.
Vertagear
If you want the best out of ergonomics, sitting comfort, and gaming aesthetics, you cannot go wrong with a gaming chair from Vertagear. The brand’s gaming chairs do not fail in elevating your gaming rig setup while maintaining a high level of comfort. The best part is, Vertagear gaming chairs do not cost a fortune.
Blue Whale
It’s always nice to have extra features to enjoy maximum comfort which, in turn, helps you improve your gaming efficiency. Blue Whale gaming chairs offer several high-end features, including adjustable lumbar support and massaging function.
The science behind the proper sitting posture
Maintaining a proper sitting posture while you game or work for hours does wonders for your health, and the science is in. According to LiveScience, proper sitting posture helps you steer clear from the risk of many health problems, including neck and back pain, hip and knee ache, poor spinal health, and impacted breathing.
Maintaining proper posture also helps you improve your physical mobility which, in turn, helps you move with agility and lower the risk of falls and other movement-related injuries. Also, proper posture boosts mood, energy levels, and overall self-confidence.
As per Esports Healthcare, here are the health risks associated with bad sitting posture.
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Maintain a correct sitting posture
Maintaining a proper sitting posture isn’t as challenging as you may think it is. To start with the basics, make minor but crucial changes. Make sure that the table/desk you use for keeping your gaming PC or console is taller than the length of your knees.
Lower or increase the height of your gaming chair to the point that you can comfortably rest your feet on the table’s base. When resting your back against the chair’s backrest, your upper body should be at a 90° or 100° angle. Lastly, make sure that your PC/console monitor is at your eye level.
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According to Healthline, it’s also important to use the right accessories (e.g. mouse, keyboard) and position them correctly in order to keep the risk of muscle strain and fatigue.
For specifics about how good sitting posture positively affects your gaming performance, check out this interesting and insightful post by 1HP.
Exercises to relieve bad posture problems
Bad posture problems such as body ache, back pain, neck pain and stiffness, numb feet, and shoulder ache can get in the way of performing your best during competitive matches. Healthline has listed a couple of basic stretches you can do at your gaming chair in order to counter fatigue that comes with long hours of constant sitting.
WebMD has also prepared a list of simple yet effective exercises you can do at your desk in order to lower the risk of short-term as well as long-term problems associated with long hours of sitting.
Just like the way it is for real-world sports, good health translates to better performance in online gaming as well. And in order to reap the benefits of good health, your overall health must in proper shape in the first place. Healthline suggests incorporating several exercises in your daily routine to improve your upper body, lower body, and joint health.
Gaming chair vs standard office chairs
Are gaming chairs different from standard office chairs? Yes. Apart from having a gaming-themed look, gaming chairs actually are feature-rich than standard office chairs. Standard office chairs rarely offer lumbar support adjustment, 4D armrest movement, and extended reclining range which most gaming chairs do.
What’s in store for gamers who shift from desk to couch or bed?
What if you are the type of gamer who prefers to shift to your couch or bed instead of constantly sitting at your gaming desk? When you are lying on the couch or bed, the risk of bad posture is just as high.
We recommend using innovative couch/bed laptop/keyboard rests such as the Couchmaster® to benefit from proper sitting ergonomics while you take comfort in gaming from your couch or bed.
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