Five Easy Ways to Improve Your Gamer Posture

Gamer life involves long hours sitting focused on a screen. What most people don’t see on the live stream are the potential health dangers that come with poor gamer posture.

It is not uncommon to see members of the gaming community hunched forward over their PS5 gaming setup or slouched in their chairs, but these habits can be harmful to a person’s physical well-being over time. Proper gamer posture helps people look after their bodies - and can actually improve their health and gameplay.

Here is a simple guide to gaming posture and a few easy ways to make sure you are sitting correctly. 

What Is Gaming Posture?

In short, posture is how a person holds their body when sitting or standing. Gamer posture refers to how someone sits when they are playing. To most people, the standard gaming position is sitting in a chair with a keyboard in front or on a sofa while holding a controller.

Good or bad posture can be quite literally game-changing for someone who spends a lot of time with their console.

What Problems Does Seated Gaming Posture Create?

Spending long hours sitting in any situation brings potential issues. We are not meant to stay still for very long, especially in unnatural or forced positions. Slouching on a sofa or sitting slumped over a gaming chair and desk weakens muscles and puts joints and bones under a lot of pressure.

The more time a person spends gaming without proper posture, the harder it is for them to train themselves to sit correctly. Muscle memory is difficult to overcome, and slouched, hunch posture quickly becomes a habit.

What Is the Best Posture for Gaming?

The best posture for gaming is sitting with your feet planted firmly on the ground, your hips pushed all the way to the back of your chair, your spine straight, your shoulders back, and your head looking straight in front of you. Your arms should be relaxed - not tense - and sit comfortably more or less parallel to the floor.

No part of your body should feel pressure, strain, or pain. Instead, you should feel neutral and well-supported.

Why Is It Important to Care about Proper Gaming Posture?

Why does all this even matter? Posture is rarely the priority for gamers, but ignoring the importance of your body and physical well-being could lead to life-long problems. 

Repeatedly poor posture when you are young can fill your future with chronic pain, stiffness, and weakness. Failure to care about the possible damage you are inflicting on your body could lead to serious regrets later in life. 

As well as the health risks, proper gaming posture can also help you strengthen your muscles and improve your gameplay. 

Top Five Posture-Fixing Tips for Gamers

1. Always Have your Feet Flat on the Floor

One of the first rules of good posture is to have the bottoms of your feet flat on the floor. This applies to working and gaming.

Grounding your feet like this helps keep your spine straight and improves overall stability. Having your legs crossed, in a basket, or tucked beneath you is bad for your circulation, posture, and core muscle control.

You can focus and play better when your core muscles are engaged and your spine is straight - and you are less likely to end up with back problems.

2. Pay Attention to Your Shoulders, Neck, and Head

It is easy to forget about posture when you are deep in the throws of a gaming session. Even people who spend long hours sitting and working at a desk can unconsciously slip into poor posture- particularly your shoulders, neck, and head.

Gradually leaning forward - craning your neck as you go - is easy to do as you focus on the screen. Try to pay attention to the angle of your neck and head and readjust regularly if needed. Also, keep your screen at a point where you can look straight ahead rather than up or down.

3. Make Sure Your Lower Back is Supported

Lower back pain is one of the most debilitating side effects of bad gamer posture. Lack of lumbar support can quickly lead to back problems - especially for those who spend long hours sitting in a chair.

Lumbar support holds your spine in the correct position - and helps keep the rest of your body aligned. Without it, the muscles at the bottom of your back have a lot of work to do to keep the rest of your body where it should be.

Over time, this strain can actually cause serious harm to your spine. Chronic back pain, joint degeneration, and other medical conditions can all stem from a lack of lumbar support, so it is not worth messing around with.

If you buy a good-quality ergonomic chair, lumbar support is included. A pillow behind your back can help in the meantime if you don’t have a good chair.

4. Adjust Your Setup to Align with Recommendations

Your gaming setup has a significant impact on your posture. By aligning your monitor, chair, desk, and gaming accessories in a way that lets you maintain your posture and position, you reduce the likelihood of slouching, slumping, and straining.

Here are a few tips to follow.

• Your desk height should be set high enough to clear the tops of your thighs - but low enough that your forearms are parallel to the floor.
• Make sure your hips and back are all the way back in your chair. The chair should be low enough that you can comfortably place your feet flat on the ground with your knees at a 90-degree angle. 
• If you have a headrest, try to keep your head against it as much as possible.
• The top one-third of the monitor should be in your direct eye line. Pull the chair close enough that you don’t need to lean forward. 
• Try to keep your shoulders back rather than let them slouch forward. It helps to have a high-back chair with a supportive backrest that you can press against. 
• Keep your accessories within reach to avoid too much twisting or awkward stretching.
• Take regular screen breaks to walk around, give your muscles a break, and stretch effectively.

5. Keep Your Arms and Wrists Relaxed and Neutral

Ideally, your elbows should be at a 90-degree angle, and your arms and wrist muscles should be as relaxed as possible. Wrist strain is a common problem among avid gamers. Carpal tunnel syndrome, pulled muscles, and hand cramps are some possible injuries that can be avoided if you keep your posture relaxed and aligned.

Battle Bad Posture with the Best Ergonomic Chairs

An ergonomic chair is the ultimate tool for beating bad gamer posture and improving physical health. It is easy to get distracted by the fun features and style of a fashionable LED gaming chair or the quirky comfort of a floor gaming chair - but the best way to protect your well-being is to invest in an ergonomic chair instead. 

Many ergonomic chairs include gaming features - or are at least stylish enough to look great as part of your gaming setup. 

What to Look for in an Ergonomic Chair for Gaming?

Here are the most important things to consider when you shop for a posture-improving ergonomic chair. 

Adjustable Features

This is by far the most important aspect. You need an ergonomic reclining chair with multiple tilt settings, adjustable height, movable armrests and headrests, and customizable lumbar support. It is much easier to maintain good gaming posture when your chair fully supports your body.

Material Choice

Most gaming chairs are leather or something similar, which can be great for comfort but doesn’t offer the best breathability. A mesh gaming chair lets air circulate better and keeps you cool. Although that doesn’t directly impact posture, it does make it easier for you to sit properly in the chair for longer.

Style

Let us begin by saying that the appearance of your chair is not going to do all that much for posture, but we know it matters to a lot of gamers who take great pride in their streaming-ready gaming rooms. Luckily, you can have the best of both worlds.

Many ergonomic chair designers have worked on creating modern, stylish models that have the function of a professional ergonomic office chair but the edgy style some gamers prefer. You could also order a custom gaming chair if you can’t find one that suits you.

Autonomous is the master of blending style and substance in high-performance, modern ergonomic chairs. The entire collection is versatile and stylish enough to fit a range of setups - and they all have head-to-toe ergonomic perfection.

Here are our top three favorites.

ErgoChair Pro

The ErgoChair Pro is the best-selling ergonomic chair at Autonomous - for good reason! Its flawless design covers every crucial support point from head to toe - adapting seamlessly to fit every body.

We tested this chair during several long gaming sessions with people of completely different sizes and shapes. The results showed that the adjustable range really does make it seem like this chair was custom-made for anyone who tries it.

Across the board, our testers agreed the best features of this chair for gamers are:

• The curved headrest - which makes it easier to keep your neck and shoulders in the right position and free from strain.
• The movable lumbar support - which instantly changed our posture once set in the correct position.
• The wide, cushioned armrests - which benefitted gameplay and made a big difference in the later hours of the session.

ErgoChair Pro

2368 reviews

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ErgoChair Curve

At first, we didn’t notice many differences between the ErgoChair Pro and the newest addition to the collection - the ErgoChair Curve. What we did spot straight away was the waterfall edge design feature on the headrest, backrest, and seat cushion - which someone felt a little edgier and appealed to the style-focused testers on our team.

Back to substance - there are many similarities between this and the Pro. Both had great lumbar support and generous curved headrests - and had the same excellent breathability and airflow thanks to the fully mesh back. If anything, the Curve was better for the larger testers - because of the wider backrest. That said, we all agreed that we preferred the tilt and recline range of the Pro over the Curve.

Our top three features for this design as gamers are:

• The wide mesh back - which kept us all feeling supported and comfortable for the entire gaming session.
• The curved edge design - which looked cool with our gaming setup.
• The excellent lower back support - which may have been even better than the Pro - especially for the bigger gamers.

ErgoChair Curve

26 reviews

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ErgoChair Ultra

Lastly, we tried the ErgoChair Ultra. This was a bit of a wildcard because it was so different from the other two at first glance. Even after using it, we all had a lot of interesting feedback that we were not expecting.

First of all, we were blown away by the sheer range of motion you get while using this chair - all while fully supported and comfortable. Even though it doesn’t have a headrest, we still felt the necessary posture guidance through the seat and back.

It is definitely different - and quite a detour from the usual gaming chair aesthetic, but we loved it a lot more than expected.

Here are our final top three features - this time for the ErgoChair Ultra.

• The ultra-flexible back - which almost feels like an extension of your body when you move.
• The excellent tilt and recline range - which bested both the other models we tried.
• The lightweight design - which felt maneuverable yet robust.

ErgoChair Ultra

543 reviews

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Final Thoughts

Looking after your posture is vital for long-term well-being. Spending too much time sitting down is already damaging to your health. Add a hunched-over gaming posture to the mix, and you have a pretty bad situation. If that is not incentive enough, it can also improve your game performance!

Understanding how your seated position impacts your body and what the correct posture is for gamers can help you stay comfortable and healthy. Having a great chair makes it all so much easier - and is well worth the investment.