After a lifetime of struggles and hardships, the elderly deserve to relax and enjoy their time. They often need assistance sitting and standing up as their motor skills decline. This is where high-seat armchairs, designed with specific features for the elderly, come in.
Armchairs are excellent for hospitals, aged care, and housing associations. They are often stackable for easy storage. They are durable and have an excellent price-to-performance ratio. To understand more about chairs in an aged care facility and why to pick an armchair for the elderly, continue reading the blog!
Elders require comfortable sitting during all their daily activities, whether resting in their rooms or having fun in their game room. Different types of chairs are suitable for various room settings. Explore these types and why we need them in aged care facilities.
The high-seat armchair for the elderly is ideal furniture for any room setting. Its versatility allows it to blend in with any room's atmosphere seamlessly. Armchairs are single-seaters with armrests, enabling the elderly to shift between sit-to-stand (STS) positions. They are visually open in design and great for reading, playing games, and socializing. Most armchairs are easy to move and stackable, allowing ultimate storage capability.
A loveseat accommodates two people. It usually has armrests and a decent seat height, making getting in and out of the chair easy. Living rooms and common areas are ideal for placing the loveseat. It takes up less space and allows better communication. However, it only has one armrest support for either of its users, so it is only suitable for short-term usage.
Lounge seats are the perfect fit if you have a room in an aged care facility that provides ultimate relaxation during activities like watching TV, reading, and napping. Whether it's the sunroom, resident room, or living space, lounge seats suit them all. Their design has a reclined back that suits leisurely use. On the contrary, we must consider their size when placing them as they can take up more space than armchairs and generally fill more visual space.
Everybody craves a fulfilling meal when it's dinner time. The elderly need the perfect height that matches the table height, allowing free arm movements and ease of mobility. The central theme of dining chair design is to make them light and easy to move. They should include an armrest for support in an aged care facility and support the spine with an extended back design.
Generally, lift chairs combine electronics and engineering for a more comfortable STS movement. The chair can feature multiple motors to assist in reclining and standing posture. These provide ultimate comfort to elders suffering from severe mobility issues. However, they have a hefty price tag and may require frequent maintenance.
Armchairs are ideal for all ages because they combine easy handling, cost-effective design, space-saving, and, most vitally, comfort. Armchairs feature armrests to relieve the load on the shoulders and promote healthy posture for the elderly in sitting positions. They also help them get in and out of the chair by putting a load on their hands during the rise motion. However, what is the right age for using a high-seat armchair? We will have to find out!
Social clocks, societal norms, and well-being determine one's age. Scientifically, according to M.E. Lachman (2001), there are three major age groups, which he mentions in the International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences. The groups are young adults, middle adults, and old adults. We will analyze the behavior of individuals within these age groups.
A study by Alexander et al. (1991), “Rising From a Chair: Effects of Age and Functional Ability on Performance Biomechanics,” analyzes the rising from the chair in two phases and uses body rotations and hand force exertion on the armrest to determine each age group behavior. We will summarize what multiple research studies say about each group. Let's analyze!
Young adults tend to exhibit similar traits throughout international data sets. They are energetic and require lower force exertion on the armrests to change position from sitting to standing. The body rotations required were also minimal for the young adults. Although the user exerted force on the armrests during the rising motion, it was significantly less than in other groups.
Young adults between 20 and 39 can use an armchair at a reasonable height with or without armrests. The discussion of seat height comes later in the article.
We also increase self-awareness as we reach the age where job security and family focus are assured. Losing muscle mass and lowering metabolism can make weight management and mobility difficult. During these years, we have realized that our furniture directly affects our well-being.
Middle-aged adults are more aware of their health, so they will require armchairs with decent arm lengths. The chair's height does not need to be very high as long as the individual is an able middle adult.
Becoming old adults means we are vulnerable to injuries due to overpowering exertion. High-seat armrest chairs are the most suitable for old adults. Abled old adults need high-seat armchairs for the elderly to ease sitting and standing motion. Meanwhile, unable old adults may require a caregiver to get them out of their seats. They need the armrests to push themselves from sitting to standing.
The greatest beneficiaries of high-seat armchairs are older adults 60 years or older. They can be in an aged care facility or at a personal residence. Old adults need support to perform the STS motion. Armchairs provide push-down and push-backward forces on the armrests with stability.
Armchairs are a common feature of an aged care residence. They are the most economical while providing the most benefits to their users. They are aesthetic, multipurpose, and provide many health benefits. Here are the aspects that make armchairs an excellent choice for residents' satisfaction at an aged care facility:
● Good Posture
● Proper Blood Flow
● Easy Rising Motion
● Light to the Eye
● Takes up Less Space
● Available in Premium Material
● Enhanced Comfort
● Easy to Move
● Use as Dining Chair
Finding the ideal height of armchairs for the elderly at an aged care facility requires careful evaluation of human anthropometrics. The height needs to be enough to allow ease in sitting and standing. Researchers have done multiple studies on this subject. Before diving into the ideal height for the elderly, we need to know what researchers considered other factors.
There is no single-size chair that can work for all residents. The varying heights of each resident make it challenging to select one height for all the armchairs. However, a decent study was performed by Blackler et al., 2018. It concludes that having chairs of different heights leads to better resident accommodation.
Residents' health conditions can vary. Some may have joint issues or back pain, making high-seat armchairs ideal. In contrast, residents with leg swellings and restricted lower body blood circulation may benefit from low-height armchairs. So, the selected armchairs should have either of them.
Every resident is unique based on the lifestyle they adopted when they were younger. However, some have gifted genes that make them superhumans. In either case, fulfilling the requirements of both body types is vital to improving their satisfaction at aged care facilities.
Now that we know the requirements of each age group, their varying body types, and health conditions. We can buy the best high-seat armchairs for the elderly. Here is a set of data collected from an aged care facility:
Type, Location, and Example | Picture | Seat Height | Seat Width | Seat Depth | Armrest Height | Armrest Width |
Wicker chair- Waiting areas | 460 | 600 | 500 | 610 | 115 | |
High-back lounge- TV area | 480 | 510/1025 | 515–530 | 660 | 70 | |
Dining casual chair- Communal meals area | 475–505a | 490–580 | 485 | 665 | 451.45 | |
Day chair- Bedrooms and cinema | 480 | 490 | 520 | 650 | 70 | |
Woven chair - Outdoors | 440 | 400–590 | 460 | 640 | 40 |
Considering the data collected from multiple facilities and analyzing anthropometrics, we can safely state that the ideal range of armchair seats should be between 405 and 482mm after compressions. However, with compression, the height should decrease by 25mm. Multiple seats should be available in an assisted living facility varying between these heights.
Ideal Range of High-Seat Armchair for the Elderly: 405 and 480 mm
We believe that no single height is associated with high-seat armchairs for elderly residents. There need to be varieties and specialized chairs based on residents' requirements. The height requirement can also depend on factors such as the location of the chair and its usage. Frequently used chairs such as dining armchairs may have lower seat heights, whereas cinema or bedroom chairs may have higher seats.
The recommended seat height between 380 and 457mm will provide comfort for the maximum number of residents based on the 95th percentile of data collection. Outliers will always need special attention. We hope you found value in our article. Visit the Yumeya furniture website for the ultimate collection of high seat armchair for elderly that offer comfort with an excellent price-to-performance ratio.
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