Balance ball chairs are a somewhat unorthodox seat option.
But there may be some benefits to using this type of chair. Today, we will explore balance ball chairs and the advantages they hold over traditional chairs.
Read on to see if one of these unique seats has anything to offer you.
7 Benefits of Sitting in a Balance Ball Chair
There are more benefits to using balance ball chairs than you might expect.
Shortly, we will cover a few of the most prominent ones in greater depth.
For now, here is a quick summary of the seven points we will address:
- Improved Core Strength
- Better Balance
- Proper Spine Alignment
- Less Back Pain
- Increased Calorie Burn
- Deeper Respiration
- More Daily Movement and Activity
Some of those outcomes might seem a bit surprising. But there are good reasons why balance ball chairs can afford those benefits. Continue on to learn more about what those reasons are.
Improved Core Strength
Balance ball chairs are inherently less stable than other seating surfaces. That instability forces you to engage your core muscles more than you otherwise would.
While core muscles are not always the target of a workout routine, they play a crucial role in our daily movements. Our core muscles allow us to maintain good posture as we sit, stand, and walk throughout the day.
The fact that a balance ball makes you use your core muscle more than usual to sit up straight means that those muscles will become stronger over time. As a result, you’ll improve your overall strength and feel more control over your basic bodily movements.
Additionally, there are some groups of people who stand to gain a lot from improved core strength. For example, better core strength is great for seniors who need enough balance to avoid a hazardous fall.
Athletes are another group that can receive a lot of benefits from a stronger core. That core strength will allow sports players to perform the movements of their sport with greater ease and effectiveness.
However, don’t think that you need to fall into a specific demographic to care about your core strength. All people should treat the strength of their core as an essential component of their physical fitness.
Better Balance
This second benefit shares a strong relationship with the first. Again, this advantage comes from the fact that those who sit in balance ball chairs must create their own stability rather than relying on a hard chair structure.
While you hold yourself still on a balance ball chair, you are simultaneously improving your balance. The challenge may not be difficult enough for you to notice your balance is tested.
But on an unconscious level, your body will constantly be making slight adjustments to maintain your balance as you sit.
Like anything else, balance is a skill that you can improve with repeated practice. Balance ball chairs let you practice this skill while you complete your work.
Proper Spine Alignment
Many professionals spend most of their days in a seated position. That seated position can have a significant negative impact on your posture. One of the main reasons for this is that standard chairs can permit users to sit with bad posture.
Whether you slouch or rely too much on your chair back, it is likely that you could use some improvements to your seated posture. Sitting on a balance ball chair is one of the best ways to strive towards those improvements.
Balance ball chairs come with less built-in back support. In response, it becomes your responsibility to maintain an upright position. The act of stabilizing yourself on the ball will encourage you to hold your spine in proper alignment.
Proper spinal alignment means that your vertebrae are all stacked on top of one another rather than leaning to one side or another. That neat stacking removes unnecessary strain from the muscles that stabilize your spine.
Less Back Pain
Back pain is a common complaint about many people. Part of the reason that complaint is so widespread is that most people spend most of their days sitting. If you don’t sit correctly during those long hours, pain may arise soon after.
The issue here is pretty straightforward. As people spend many hours sitting, they often do so with bad posture. Bad posture puts excessive strain on the muscles that support your spine.
Consider how much of your day you spend sitting. That time may take place at your desk or during your commute. Regardless, you are likely focusing on a more important task during your sitting hours. That means you are probably paying less attention to posture than you should.
There are many other reasons why a person might feel back pain. But poor posture, whether sitting or standing, is a leading cause. Thankfully, a balance ball chair can act as a remedy here.
Balance ball chairs will inspire you to be more conscious of your posture. Without the help of a large backing, it will become your job to hold your spine in proper alignment. Over time, your newfound good posture may relieve some stress on your lower back muscles.
Increased Daily Calorie Burn
Burning more calories is a standard part of any weight loss program. Most people are aware of that basic fitness fact. The challenge is finding time in your day to make that calorie burn take place.
Often, people fall victim to the belief that workouts in the gym or on the track are the only way to create a significant calorie burn. But that is not the case. People also burn a large percentage of their calories while performing their daily tasks.
Put simply, the more you move and engage your muscles in your waking hours, the more calories you will burn overall. Workouts may be the most physically strenuous part of the day. But you should not neglect the hours you spend outside the workout room.
To add more activity to your lifestyle, you need to search for ideal opportunities to do so. Balance ball chairs represent one such opportunity.
Most people don’t think of sitting as a chance to burn calories. But those people often imagine traditional seating options. With a balance ball chair, you will need to use your muscles to hold yourself upright.
That muscle engagement may not amount to a full workout or even raise your heart rate. What it will do is increase the amount of time you spend in a somewhat active state each day. The result is a larger calorie burn, which will help you with any weight loss goals you may have.
Deeper Respiration
Breathing seems like it is a task so simple that there is no reason to give it any thought. But that is far from the case. In fact, many people are breathing incorrectly, or at least below their full capacity, for most of their lives.
Respiration bears a deep connection to your posture. If your posture is poor, your lungs will not have adequate space to expand fully. That lack of space means you are not getting as much oxygen as you could on each breath.
With good posture, your lungs can expand with each inhales as much as possible, which lets a greater volume of oxygen enter your body where it can be useful. This method of breathing is sometimes called diaphragmatic breathing, and it can have some surprising benefits of its own. Here are just a few ways that deep breaths can benefit you:
- Lower heart rate
- Blood pressure regulation
- Reduced stress
We’ve already mentioned how balance ball chairs can improve your core strength and your spinal alignment. Those two benefits lead to better posture. That improved posture has the indirect effect of improving your breathing as well.
More Daily Movement and Activity
Most people think about working out and dieting when they want to improve their health. But there is another important factor that also plays a role in your wellbeing.
Regardless of our fitness goals, we should all try to carry out an active lifestyle. Having an active lifestyle simply means that you engage in physical activity regularly. That physical activity does not need to come in the form of a formal workout. Instead, it is a part of your daily life and work.
A balance ball promotes more physical engagement as you sit. Although sitting on a balance ball may not be strenuous at the moment, it can contribute to more activity in your lifestyle.
Every minute you spend sitting on a balance ball chair will make you more physically active. But balance ball chairs can motivate other activities as well. Mainly, sitting on a balance ball may serve as a reminder to stand up and walk around occasionally, which will only help your wellness goals.
Conclusion
You might not have considered that the time you spend sitting could contribute to better health.
But with a balance ball chair, a boost in general wellness is what you can expect.
These chairs not only give you a place to sit. They also offer multiple benefits to your well-being as well.
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