Recliners are one of the most used sitting places around the globe.
They are comfortable, and after a hectic day at work, sitting on a recliner brings a soothing experience to your body.
It brings comfort and absorbs all the exhaustion your body suffers through the day out.
But are you committing the same mistake most recliner users do?
I mean, do you still for hours in an unnatural position?
If you sit in your recliner for hours, without switching position, or in an improper post that misaligns your posture.
It not only hurts your backbone but the lower parts of the body and the legs too.
Sitting in a recliner with the footrest extended and legs spread on it for hours without changing and switching position can have a toll on your health.
This is what we are going to dig deep into. Going to unearth, is sitting in a recliner bad for your leg circulation?
And besides that, we would be telling you the best ways to sit in a recliner without any negative health effects on your body.
Recliners benefits for overall blood circulation of the Body
When you sit in a recliner with your legs on the footrest spread, with the legs above the heart, your heart has to do less work in pumping the blood across the body.
That means it is easier for the heart to circulate the blood through the body compared to when you are standing.
This is also helpful for your blood pressure, as well as your body joints and many other parts of the body.
But if you overdo it, like if you spread your legs on the footrest with your legs elevated than your heart, for long hours, there can be negative impacts on your body and health.
To get the best of both worlds, it is recommended at you maintain a proper equilibrium.
For optimal blood circulation throughout your body, after 20-minutes of laying in a recliner, get up and use the recliner like a chair in a normal position.
When you sit in a chair, impose a proper pose, with your leg tucked to the back of the recliner.
You can also maintain a rocking position for some time. Like, you can set the angle of the recliner to 105 degrees, and sit for some time in that position too.
In the rocking position though, keep in mind that your back and recliner should have no empty space.
Poor blood circulation when sitting in a recliner
Now comes the most important part, and the part we all are interested in. Because we unknowingly might be committing some mistakes that may lead us into some trouble.
We know that our body’s blood circulation depends on the vessels spread across the body.
If you measure the total length of the blood vessels spread in our body it is around 60,000 kilometers.
Our blood is pumped by the heart through the blood vessels reaching every part of the body including muscles and the heart even.
The damage comes when we sit in our chairs for way too long and this circulation gets disturbed.
Sitting in the recliner is bad for overall blood circulation when we sit for hours in one position, without changing position with the legs bent.
Sitting in a recliner is bad for overall blood circulation when you sit in a recliner in an improper pose.
Like if you are resting in a recliner with the footrest extended but the elevation is more than just above your heart.
For some time, it will be good for your legs because it might feel relaxed.
But for more than minutes, if you continue to do that, the legs will be getting no blood at all. Because gravity is pulling the blood in the backward direction, towards your upper part of the body.
Because your feet are way above the heart, in that position your legs may feel numbness which is not an ideal condition for leg circulation.
Sitting in a recliner is bad for your leg circulation when you use the recliner as a chair and spends lots of time over there.
Sitting in the same position with your legs on the floor will have the most blood circulation toward your legs, and in that case, your legs may feel swelling.
But the question that arises here is how to use the recliner properly for improved blood circulation.
How to use a recliner for improved blood circulation?
To enjoy superior blood circulation in your body, and to get the most out of your recliner, it is always ideal to sit in the right position and take care of a few things.
As per the researchers, and as per medical experts, resting in a recliner for 20-minutes with the feet or legs elevated, leads to improved blood circulation.
To get that done, follow these steps.
First rest in your recliner or the recliner chair in the most comfortable position. Keep in mind that your lower back area should be tucked into the recliner, or there should be lumbar support of the chair to your lower back.
Enjoy the position for some moments before you extend the footrest.
Now, after 2-3 minutes let the footrest be extended, and take your both feet on it in a way that the legs should be elevated higher than your heart.
The position is very beneficial for your blood circulation and helps you have a healthy body. In that position, as I mentioned, your heart has to do less work, and less pumping to make the blood reach the body.
Don’t overdo it. If you overdo it, you can bring more damage than good.
In the same way, don’t sit in a recliner for more than 30-40 minutes in the same position.
Switch your position, and if you feel like your body is little getting used to the one position, and you feel it right or comforting to the one particular position, your system should be alerted that your muscles are getting comfortable with that particular position, which is not a good sign.
In that case, you may suffer muscle shrinking, shoulder down, or spinal misalignment issue which takes months and sometimes years to get fixed.
There is no proper cure or medicine for these illnesses or disorders, and through your regular exercise and right sitting position, you can fix these issues.
Let’s assume, that due to not following the right sitting regimen in a recliner, you are suffering bad blood circulation, what to do now?
Best practices for improved blood circulation
First thing first, your poor blood circulation can be due to more than one reason.
But let’s assume it’s because of sitting not properly in a recliner. The same recliner can help you get improved blood circulation.
Follow the 20-minute legs elevated than heart exercise or sitting position and you will start experiencing improved blood circulation right away.
If you don’t have a recliner, or it does not support the adjustability, you can do that by resting on the floor with your back and legs elevated in a way that they should be at 90 degrees to the walls or your foot facing the roof.
If you are an adjustable riser or recliner, you can use it for raising your legs to a more comfortable position by pressing the button.
It will help you relieve the stress on your joints and lower the blood pressure in your body.
And proper exercise too can help you maintain proper blood circulation.
Exercise for improved blood circulation
Walking is the best exercise in the world even for improving blood circulation too.
Getting your heart rate up can brings wonders for your health, it’s not like a marathon race or hours-long walk.
It can be started with just a 10-minute slow walk and can be stretched up to an hour.
The second thing is don’t act very fast. Like if you are sitting for long hours, don’t get up quickly.
Do it slowly, so that your body gets used to your standing position and maintains the right blood circulation for your body.
If you stand up too quickly or sit abruptly, that too can bring lots of issues and in case of getting up, it can lead to dizziness and a light head.
This can be fixed with a recliner, you can bring your body to the right position before you get up.
Overall benefits of recliner chair for our Health
We have seen that sitting in a recliner is beneficial for our health our body and for our legs to if not overdo it. It has arrays of health benefits, these are some world-known advantages to help you get the best out of the recliner.
If your work or job requires you to stand up the most time, your legs are the biggest part that takes the biggest impact.
The recliner can be helpful for you, if you sit in a recliner with your legs a little elevated than your heart, then you can witness calming and soothing effects on your legs.
In that way, those who suffer from soreness can also get healed without any big issues.
It also calms your nervous system and provides complete relaxation to your body.
It is also helpful for your back and lower parts of the body like the hips area. Sitting in a recliner in the right posture for half an hour can fix various backbone or upper back shoulder issues.
For those suffering from sleep apnea, or various lung issues, the recliner can be beneficial for them.
With the recliners, airways can feel more relaxed, and helps in breathing well.
Gamers, those who spend lots of time playing e-sports virtual reality games, they suffer back pain once in a life, if are not cautious.
For them, sitting in the recliner at 135-degree while playing games fix lots of back pain issues. At this angle, your lower back is the least pressured and your even weight distribution helps fix lots of issues.
What is right for resting in a recliner feet up or feet down?
If you work all day standing, resting in a recliner with your feet up to the level of your heart can bring comfort to your legs as well as your overall body.
It helps your heart too, as the heart will be pumping more easily towards the entire body without putting in lots of effort.
But, resting in that position for long hours can bring negative effects on your health. Overall, resting in a recliner with feet up is more beneficial than down.
Conclusion
Recliners are impressive, they are the right companions for ultimate comfort and soothe our body like nothing else.
Resting in it even for minutes boosts our energy level and kind of absorbs all the exhaustion. But resting in it for long hours can be harmful for overall body blood circulation as well as leg circulation.
We discussed the right ways to get the right out of the recliners and how to improve the overall blood circulation as well as the leg circulation.
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