Does active sitting provide more physiological changes than traditional sitting and standing workstations?

An active sitting chair can increase energy expenditure while performing standardized data entry work

BACKGROUND

Active sitting chairs have been proposed as an effective approach for reducing sedentary behaviour in the workplace.

OBJECTIVE

This cross-sectional study evaluated how an active sitting chair altered energy expenditure compared to a traditional office chair during seated computer work.

METHODS

Sixteen participants (8M/8F) completed two 20-min sessions of seated standardized computer work in an active sitting chair, with a multiaxial rotating seat pan, and traditional office chair. Metabolic and ventilatory variables were collected with a customized metabolic cart and cardiac variables were collected by a Hexoskin© shirt. Average ventilatory, metabolic, and cardiac variables from the last 15-min of each block were compared between chairs and sexes.

RESULTS

Statistically significant increases in oxygen uptake (V˙O2) emerged in active sitting (0.02 L/min; 7.6%), and ultimately led to a 1.5 kcal increase in energy expenditure compared to traditional sitting. Proportional and significant changes in minute ventilation (V˙E; + 0.9 L/min), heart rate (HR; + 5.8 bpm), and heart rate variability (HRV; -0.05 s) occurred, which further support the greater metabolic demand in active sitting.

CONCLUSIONS

A 1.5 kcal per 15-min increase in energy expenditure translates to 6 kcal/hour and 48 kcal/day. Compared to other literature, this change is similar to caloric expenditure when climbing three to six flights of stairs and when using alternative workstation designs (e.g., standing or sitting on a stability ball). An active sitting chair with a multiaxial rotating seat pan and no back support, appears to be a good alternative for increasing energy expenditure at a workstation.

Active workstations: A literature review on workplace sitting

The purpose of this paper is to further understand current literature on prolonged sitting, sitting posture and active sitting solutions. This paper is divided into three sections: The first section (Part I) is a comprehensive overview of the literature on how a static prolonged seated posture can affect: spinal health, trunk posture, contact pressure/discomfort development and vascular issues. The second section (Part II) reviews and qualitatively compares the four working postures recognized in ANSI/HFES 100-2007: reclined sitting, upright sitting, declined sitting and standing. The final section (Part III) is a summary of research on active chairs that revolves around the two types of movement patterns: 1- sustaining continual movement over a range of postures, occasionally reaching neutral lordosis, and 2- maintaining high frequency and duration of daily light contractile activity in the legs (or lower limbs).

Measurements of Electrodermal Activity, Tissue Oxygen Saturation, and Visual Analog Scale for Different Cuff Pressures

The quantification of comfort in binding parts, essential human-machine interfaces (HMI) for the functioning of rehabilitation robots, is necessary to reduce physical strain on the user despite great achievements in their structure and control. This study aims to investigate the physiological impacts of binding parts by measuring electrodermal activity (EDA) and tissue oxygen saturation (StO2). In Experiment 1, EDA was measured from 13 healthy subjects under three different pressure conditions (10, 20, and 30 kPa) for 1 min using a pneumatic cuff on the right thigh. In Experiment 2, EDA and StO2 were measured from 10 healthy subjects for 5 min. To analyze the correlation between EDA parameters and the decrease in StO2, a survey using the visual analog scale (VAS) was conducted to assess the level of discomfort at each pressure. The EDA signal was decomposed into phasic and tonic components, and the EDA parameters were extracted from these two components. RM ANOVA and a post hoc paired t-test were used to determine significant differences in parameters as the pressure increased. The results showed that EDA parameters and the decrease in StO2 significantly increased with the pressure increase. Among the extracted parameters, the decrease in StO2 and the mean SCL proved to be effective indicators. Such analysis outcomes would be highly beneficial for studies focusing on the comfort assessment of the binding parts of rehabilitation robots.

The biomechanical benefits of active sitting

This cross-sectional study examined the biomechanical effects of two active chairs (AC1: had the feature to pedal and slide forward on the seat pan; AC2: a multiaxial motion seat pan) compared to a traditional office chair and standing workstation. Twenty-four healthy participants worked at each of the workstations for 60-min. The following equipment was used: Motion Capture, Electromyography, Ratings of Perceived Discomfort Questionnaire, and Exit Survey. The active protocol had positive effects on the body, including increased neuromuscular activity in the gastrocnemius, increased overall movement, and a more open trunk-thigh angle. Greater discomfort in the buttocks due to the lack of seat pan contour was reported for the AC1 which identified a need for a design modification. While standing, participants' shoulders were less flexed than when sitting in any of the three seats, however, greater discomfort was reported in the lower legs after 1 h of computer work. Practitioner summary: A comparison of four different workstations was conducted to further understand the use of active workstations. Active sitting was found to have positive effects on the body, such as allowing sitters to increase movement while sitting without the high activation of muscular activity. Standing can also provide a positive break from sitting.