Sitting is one of our main activities – and not the healthiest. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average American spends between 6.5 and 8 hours sitting per day. Aside from the inherent health risks – obesity, poor circulation, heart disease – there are other consequences from sitting for long periods of time, such as lower back and spine pain.
LiberNovo, a wellness technology company, hopes to ease your suffering with its new office chair, the Omni. The company claims it helps alleviate back pains and poor posture in real time. The Omni will be available in three colors: Moss Green for $829 (coming soon), and Midnight Black and Space Gray, each for $929.
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So how does the Omni work? It starts with motorized assistance called Intelligent SyncroLink Mechanism System, which moves in real time as you shift to help you maintain good posture. Then there's the Bionic Flexfit Backrest, a device with 16 joints and eight adaptive panels designed to follow your spine's natural curvature. The goal is for you to feel comfortable with less back strain, no matter your position.
Since you could be sitting in the Omni for hours every day, LiberNovo also created four seating modes designed to help you lock in for work or relax after a hard day. In Deep Focus, the chair is nearly upright at a 105-degree angle, for video calls and what the company describes as full-on work. Solo-Work mode tilts back to a slightly more relaxed 120 degrees. At 135 degrees, Soft Recline mode is designated for gaming or vegging out. Spine Flow (160 degrees) places the chair into a full recline.
Our editor, Suzanne Kantra, demoed the chair and recommends the most reclined of the four positions for taking breaks. "When you recline, the arms move with you, which is something I haven't seen on other ergonomic chairs, " she said. "Also, if you have a small frame, like me, the arms adjust inward, so they are supported next to your body instead of away from it.”
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The Omni also has a sort of massage feature where the motor of the chair's spine presses into your back to stretch it out. From there, it retracts and starts the process over.
LiberNovo also has a couple of accessories (pricing and availability not yet announced) to further enhance your sitting experience. The LiberNovo Cooling Cushion constantly absorbs body heat to alleviate any stiffness incurred from long periods of sitting. Or it can add some cooling refreshment for those of us who tend to run hot.
The StepSync footrest supports your calves and feet. Together with the Omni chair, its purpose is to create zero-gravity alignment – meaning equal weight distribution across the body of the chair. This helps alleviate any pressure on the back or spine.
Having endured an uncomfortable office chair or two over the course of my career, I'm intrigued by what the LiberNovo Omni promises. Work is hard enough already. We all deserve a little comfort while we do it.
[Image credit: Techlicious, LiberNovo]
