[WesleyJohnson]

"I've read recently that slouching is actually easier on the back than sitting straight"

Any chance you might have some reference to where you read that? I'd be interested in seeing how they did the study and what sort of results they came up with.

[KoZeN]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/6187080.stm

Not a link to the source but a decent article surmising the findings.

[eevo]

I do sit like this on an aeron chair, leaned back as far as it can go. I almost never have back issues, but in this position (exactly like the far right picture in the article) my neck eventually starts to ache.

Good for back, bad for neck...

[maineldc]

You should check out the freedom chair with headrest. I have 3 and love them for exactly this reason, though now that my daughter has taken over my home office, I never get to actually use them...

http://www.amazon.com/HumanScale-Freedom-Chair-Headrest-Fabr...

[chrismealy]

That's what I do, except I put my feet on a chair and keep my legs straight.

Trying to sit up straight makes my shoulders hunch up. Slouching lets my shoulders and arms relax. Sitting on a hard unpadded chair is good too.

[roblund]

Pretty interesting article.

[kgroll]

I read an article supporting this as well. The basic idea was that sitting in a slouched position was closer to standing up.

The article was called "Get Off Your Ass" and ran in Bicycle magazine probably about two years ago. I'll see if I can find it when I get home this evening so you can decide how credible you think it is.

[kgroll]

I found that article. It was less informative than I thought. I've uploaded a scan of the relevant section here: http://imgur.com/ac2VS.png

The text, in case that link dies:

"No one wants to be a slouch, but it turns out that might just be what's best for your back if you're bound to a desk all day. That's right: Although you've been admonished all your life to "sit up straight," the healthiest posture seems to be considerably more laid-back - 135 degrees back, in fact. When researchers in Scotland and Canada scanned the backs of 22 healthy men and women as they assumed three sitting postures - sitting straight at a 90-degree angle, hunching forward, and leaning back 135 degrees - they were surprised to find that the spine was actually least stressed in the laid-back position. The worst? Sitting ramrod-straight created the most disc movement and strain on the spine.

"Sitting unsupported puts more pressure and stress on your lumbar spine than standing," says Scott L Blumenthal, M.D., a spine surgeon at the Texas Back Institute. Relieve the pressure by sitting in a chair with good lumbar support, so it's easy to maintain the natural curvature in your lower back."

Source: March 2009 issue of Bicycle Magazine. I think this is covered by fair-use.