Long-term sitting is one of the biggest problems of modern civilization.
People are spending an increasing amount of time sitting at work, transit and home.
The chair is one of the most used products, fatally affecting our health and life quality.
The Sitting Epidemic
Consequences of long-term sitting have reached an epidemical level with tendencies of progressive growth.
It’s called the Sitting Disease. Daily exercise is not enough to counteract excessive sitting. If you are physically inactive, you are at “very high risk”, and even if you are physically active, you’re still at “high risk”. Metabolism begins to slow down when we sit down. After 20 minutes of sitting still, it crawls to a halt resulting in lower HDL (High Density Lipoprotein). Excessive sitting is cited as a key risk factor in 4 of the top U.S. killers: heart disease, stroke, diabetes and some cancers. It is also linked to obesity and early mortality rates.
The Hazards of Sitting
The fact that children grow up sitting is rather concerning. The damage done to human health by sitting is big, while the consequences in the future are incomprehensible.
Daily consequences are:
pain
numbness
fatigue
lack of concentration
lack of productivity
A much bigger problem are chronic diseases caused by long-term sitting including:
impaired circulation in the brain, weakened circulation in the legs resulting in the formation of thrombi that can cause a stroke or heart attack, varicose veins capillary damage, type 2 diabetes, colon cancer, slowed peristalsis of the intestines, muscle degeneration, knee, lumbar, hip and prostate damage, stiff neck, rigid spine, pain in the shoulders and the back, hemorrhoids, damage to the reproductive health and organs, improper development in children.
As the public opinion is that sitting is an unsolvable problem, people seek solutions in rehabilitation measures including numerous exercises, stretching and yoga.
The experts recommend sitting up every 30 minutes and 10 minutes of physical activity. From the aspect of productivity, that is a waste of effective work time of at least 160 minutes.
The recommendation that users exercise after work to neutralize the effects of long-term sitting is mostly unreal as the users are overtired by bad sitting and rather choose passive resting that consists of lying down or sitting again.
"The existing chairs do not solve, but rather cause the problems of long-term sitting!"
"Long-term (multiyear) sitting will not get you some of these illnesses, but all of them."
"Sitting is more dangerous than smoking, kills more people than HIV and
is more treacherous than parachuting. We are sitting ourselves to death."
Dr. James A. Levine, Mayo Clinic
EXISTING CHAIRS
There is no chair of any sort that makes long-term sitting without consequences available. The chairs that we have today only replace one unpleasant state that is standing up with another that is sitting down.
The chairs that allow customization of the sitting position are inefficient as the users quickly give up on frequent adjustments and continue sitting as usual.
Chairs for active sitting are impractical for long-term sitting as they cause muscle fatigue which lowers concentration, affecting working ability. These solutions are not affirmative as work chairs.
Zero-gravity chairs are based on changing the angle of the entire body (to the lying position) that does certainly not eliminate (which can be concluded from the name), but rather just change the angle under which gravity affects the user, causing as much damage as other chairs. This kind of chairs is also impractical as it limits the user's manipulative abilities.
Alternative solutions such as leaning on a curved board or even recommendations on standing instead of sitting, moving a pedal-like mechanism manually with feet, walking on a conveyor belt, inventions such as a chair in which the user bends on their knees are also inappropriate for long-term work and certainly harmful to the human body and health.
Recommendations about proper sitting are also very dangerous, as they are based on the theory that there is only one sitting position (90° sitting) which supposedly forces the user to make effort to sit in the same position all the time, exposing themselves to constant pressure.
"Long term-sitting is itself not dangerous, but is made as such by the existing chairs."
SUPERCHAIR
Changing the paradigm of sitting
The Superchair is an uncompromising and comprehensive solution for long-term sitting. It is not just another solution for long-term sitting problems, but the only valid one. Made as a solution for long-term sitting on the office chair market.
The Superchair is a standard office chair by the looks, gauges and use.
It can be transformed into a complete workstation by a simple addition of working surfaces.
It has both rehabilitation and relaxation functions with full capacities of both uses at the same time discreetly and insensibly.
The Superchair is a multipurpose device, fulfilling all of its purposes perfectly.
All the knowledge, recommendations and solutions related to sitting are integrated and sublimed in the core idea of the Superchair.
Therefore, the Superchair is a superior solution for long-term sitting without negative consequences.
It is meant to be used by all persons sitting for a long time and every day at work, professionals, especially those in need of high concentration, attention, responsibility and productivity, such as programmers, designers, gamers, control centers, etc. but also home users and children.
The Superchair is a solution applicable to transit, including truck drivers, train drivers, helmsmen and aircraft pilots. It has a potential as a solution/standard in future autonomous vehicles.
It secures healthy development in children, with a special system that would develop/encourage a positive attitude towards physical activity and form a good habit.
It can correct the spine (scoliosis and kyphosis), the legs (X and O) and feet without a special therapy, just with regular sitting.
The Superchair is the only solution for persons already affected by the consequences of sitting and those who have a problem with sitting in existing chairs.
As a home model the use varies from a work chair to a relaxation chair for a fast recovery. It is very useful for the people who rarely move, making it interesting for use in hospitals and nursing centers.
The Superchair meets all conditions required to become the standard chair for long-term sitting according to all of its testers, earning it its name - the Superchair.
The testers were professionals such as designers, programmers, doctors, athletes but also common people of varying levels of education and intelligence.
The testing has fully confirmed the concept.
The development lasted for 3 years.
The team consists of experienced industrial designers, development engineers and business developers.
COMPARISON CHART
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PRODUCT
The severity of the problems it solves.
The amount of problems it solves.
The usage frequency. The chair is an item with the longest time of use.
Contribution to the public health.
For the employers: increased productivity and better health of the employees, less health insurance premium.
The Superchair redefines terms such as ergonomics, comfort, proper sitting.