Are Bean Bags Good for Your Back? [Answered!]

There has been so much buzz around bean bag chairs for quite some time now. But are bean bag chairs good for your back? Besides the fun element, gentle touch, and flamboyant looks, does this seating option help you out? 

We have answered all of this and much more in this piece of writing. Furthermore, we will be discussing whether or not these chairs can improve your overall posture and lead you to work much better.

Right this way please.

Are Bean Bags Good for Your Back? Here is the Answer

The short answer is it depends on the posture in which you sit on it. If you are able to sit properly and can maintain a good posture, they won’t hurt your back. In fact, they will relieve your back pain. 

If you are unable to maintain a good physical posture, you might face some issues with your back. 

To sit in the right posture and get relief from back pain, go for a foam filler bean bag or a comfortable bean bag chair that comes with proper back support.

Is a Bean Bag Good for Your Back Pain and Health

Those bean bags that contain memory foam or EPS polystyrene bean bag filling are best for your back. These chairs will let you fit around them and provide decent support to your back. They also help you in keeping the right body posture and prevent you from harming your spine.

Not only back, but once you gain control of your body posture, a bean bag also supports your head, neck, and shoulders at all angles. So, you can safely sit in a relaxed position while you listen to music.

Want to do more than just comfortably sit on a bean bag? Perhaps you can lie down on it thanks to the bean bag ergonomics. With the ability to change the angle in which you lie and the contoured support of the bean bag chair, you can easily position yourself in such a manner that your back will be supported perfectly and you will get comfort.

One of the most alarming things about bean bags is that most of them lack proper back support. They lead you to abnormal body postures if you don’t give attention to the way you sit.

You should also give attention to the activities that you want to perform while you sit in a bean bag. This is so because a seating option like a bean bag is a source of comfort for many. And comfort will make you sleepy. It means that you should never sit on a bean bag chair if you want to do an activity that demands your concentration such as working from home, doing homework, etc.

Keep in mind that sitting in one place in the same posture for a long time is not going to do any good for your back. You should consider sitting as one of your everyday movements. If you do the opposite, you might end up hurting your back instead of comforting it.

Are Bean Bags Bad for Your Back?

If you don’t know are bean bag chairs good for your back or not, you are not alone. There are many confused homeowners like you.

You will be willing to relax your back if you have been on your feet all day in the office or spending long hours in school. Sitting on a sofa does not guarantee that your backache will decrease and hence it will do nothing to help your back. In the end, you might find yourself slouching instinctively. 

When you sit on a bean bag, your back and other major parts of your body are supported by it. So you will not strain your body when sitting on a bean bag chair. If you sit on a sofa, you might end up stressing hard to stay upright which will cause great discomfort to your body.

This is where bean bags come into play. They save you from trying to sit in the right pose. With bean bags, you have the freedom to sit in any position in a comfortable way.

You can either recline or prop the bean bag in a more upright position. Most likely, you will have the support that your back requires in whatever position.

You may find yourself sitting in an unpleasant or odd position on a sofa. You might not be able to find a comfortable position while sitting on a couch and hence it may not help you heal your back pain. So long story short, yes, a bean bag is good for your back in a certain way.

Advantages of Bean Bags for Your Back

This is how a bean bag can benefit and help your back:

It Conforms to the User’s Body

Your bean bag’s filler material is both supportive and cozy, making the bean bag flexible enough to mold to your body. Because of this, it can exactly convert to the shapes necessary for your weight and height, and whatever sitting position you choose.

After a hard day’s work at the office, the softness of a bean bag can be very relaxing – as no matter which way you move, your favorite bean bag literally has got your back. Your bean bag can easily wrap around you to support you completely and reduce back pain.

It is Extremely Comfy

The fact that bean bags from top-of-the-line brands are incredibly comfy is one of their best features. They can be used as a replacement for a sofa to lay to read a book or as a chair to sit in front of a computer screen. They are made to fit people of various sizes, from young children to grown-up adults.

A bean bag will conform to your body shape because it is comfy, cozy, and flexible. The user can easily find a comfortable posture to sit without straining their neck or leaning forward in order to see the computer.

Instead, your body is supported, allowing you to comfortably sit down. This makes sure that no part of your body experiences unwarranted stress and helps to relieve pain and tension.

It Perfectly Supports Your Back

Bean bags support your back far better than a traditional chair. You can check how much your spine is supported by a mainstream chair and a bean bag chair by sitting on them. But the main thing here is the way you sit on them. You should sit in the right way to experience maximum comfort.

You can also check how a chair supports your back. When you sit down on a chair, if your lower spine is not securely resting against it, the furniture is not supporting your lower spine. This is where bean bags come into play.

They completely support your entire spinal column just like an ideal seating option should do. In addition to preventing back pain, doing this leads your joints and muscles to line up correctly in the sitting posture.

How Does Sitting for Long Hours Affect Body Posture?

One might ask are bean bags bad for the back or not. Well, as we have mentioned earlier, they are fine for your back. But there is something you should keep in mind when using these seating options.

Your body position matters a lot regardless of standing or sitting on a bean bag. When you lean or slouch, most of the time you are putting extra pressure on your spine. This is one of the many reasons for people to opt for chairs having upright, solid back support.

People think that chairs with back support can help them in maintaining a good body position. This is true to some extent but back support is not the only thing that does the job for you. It is also true that chairs have a direct impact on your body posture alignment.

Your back might not be straight even after sitting on a bean bag chair with back support. Yes, bean bags should have an ergonomic design but your body posture may vary and might not be ideal on any kind of chair you choose regardless of having back support or not. You can slouch, especially on those chairs that have hardbacks and seats.

We recommend that you should go for a bean bag chair that not only has back support but also features an ergonomic design. Such a chair will let you get back support for your spine regardless of your body posture. Try to find a chair that matches the contours of your body.

The bean bag filler material matters too. A chair containing a type of material that adjusts naturally to any of your body position will prove to be beneficial for you in the longer run.

In any chair, maintaining and regulating proper body posture is critical. It is critical to consider the effects of sitting on your back while selecting the ideal seating option for your office or home. You may not be experiencing back pain right now but you may suffer from it in the future.

Now, you might be wondering are bean bags good to sleep on or not? Well, there are many people who love to sleep on a bean bag. This is because they can easily sleep in any posture they like without stiffing their back. Whatsmore, they also find it very comfortable, even more than a classical bed.

But there are also some individuals who are not a fan of using a bean bag to sleep. Though experts recommend that toddlers, elderly people, and pregnant women should not sleep on a bean bag.

The Disadvantages of Bean Bag for Sitting Purposes

It is relaxing and good for your back to sit on a bean bag from time to time. But there are some disadvantages of a bean bag as well. Sitting on it for a very long time makes it dangerous, especially from an orthopedic perspective.

A bean bag does not provide the required support for your upper back when you sit on it. Another disadvantage is that you are prone to a slouchy posture which does not suit your long-term spinal curvature.

Whenever you sit on a bean bag of large size, usually your legs are not supported properly and are suspended in the air. When the knees are folded at 90 degrees, they get the required support. If you cannot fulfill these requirements, you might face muscular pains later on.

The neck is bent forward when talking on the phone or reading a book while sitting wrongly on a beanbag. This can create extreme muscular discomfort. so it’s best to use bean bag chairs only occasionally or else you might catch yourself suffering from these side effects due to their long-term usage.

Are Bean Bags Good to Sleep On?

But make sure your posture is correct. Additionally, make sure your bean bag is of the highest quality. The elderly, infants, sick people, and pregnant women shouldn’t sleep on a bean bag, just to be safe. Sleeping on a bean bag is completely safe for grown-ups and adults. They can spend a lot of time relaxing and sleeping on their favorite piece of furniture.

So, Are Bean Bag Chairs Good for Your Back?

So, we can say that it is healthy to sit on a bean bag if you have the right bean bag, can maintain a good body posture and aren’t going to sit for long hours. This seating option does have a place within your home if you’re looking for a way to deal with back pain. 

Bean bags are not suitable for some activities, especially working. So corporate employees working from home should look for other options. 

Bean bag chairs are a nice choice for lazing around and doing nothing. You can use them for reading and gaming as well. But if you want something with greater back support, you might want to look at other products available out there in the market.