Playing games on a PC has advantages over gaming on a console, such as using a mouse for better accuracy in shooter games and complete control over graphics settings. With a high-end PC, you can play games at high fidelity (if not the highest fidelity) at high frame rates or maximize the frames with lower settings on competitive games. However, one aspect that PC gaming with a keyboard and mouse may not have is the ability to relax on a couch and play games. That said, you can still make your desk setup comfortable with the right equipment and settings. This guide shows you how to make a PC gaming setup more comfortable.
It explains what adjustments you can make to your setup and products you can consider to improve the overall comfort of your gaming space. With that said, let's explore how you may be able to make your gaming experience both functional and comfortable almost immediately.
How to Make a PC Gaming Setup More Comfortable – Tips That Make a Difference
All the tips and instructions in this guide are for PC gamers using a keyboard and mouse setup. Using a controller can help make your setup a little more flexible, but you may compromise some accuracy in the process. With that said, here are some tips and instructions on how to make a PC gaming setup more comfortable.
Height of Your Ergonomic Gaming Chair
The first thing you should do is adjust the height of your ergonomic gaming chair. This adjustment will ensure that your lower back is comfortable, your knees have less strain when getting up, and your hips have the support they need.
The ideal height should ensure the following.
Both of your feet are flat on the floor. Your feet should not dangle in the air, and your heels should not be off the ground.
Your knees should be at the same height or slightly lower than your hips. If your knees are higher, you’ll put more strain on them when getting out of your seat.
Bonus tips:
You should place your feet right under your knees to ensure that your knees are at about a 90-degree angle.
Avoid sitting with your legs crossed. Doing so, you’re putting more strain on one knee and causing muscle imbalances in your lower back and hips. Thus, you may experience lower back pain in the long term because of sitting with one leg off the floor.
Sit Fully into Your Seat
It's never a good idea to sit at the edge of your gaming chair's seat. Two reasons why it's a bad idea include the following.
1. It prevents your back from resting comfortably against the backrest. Thus, you won't provide your lumbar spine support, which will make it harder for you to maintain the correct posture throughout your gaming session.
2. It does not give your thighs the support they need. Both thighs need to be resting comfortably on your seat. This way, you can reduce stress on your hips and lower back, making your gaming sessions more comfortable and lowering the risk of pain and injury in the long term.
Adjust Your Desk's Height
The next step in how to make a PC gaming setup more comfortable is to adjust your desk's height. This step may not be possible for all gamers because many desks cannot adjust the height. However, if you have a height-adjustable gaming desk, you should move it higher or lower to achieve the following.
Adjust the height of your gaming desk so that you achieve the following.
1. You can keep your wrists relatively straight when you're using your mouse and keyboard. So, your wrist should not be bent upward where your knuckles are significantly higher than your wrist joints. Your knuckles should also not be significantly lower than your wrist joints.
2. Your forearms are parallel to the floor or slightly bent forward, where your wrists are slightly lower than your elbows.
Some flexion is expected and normal. However, too much of it can lead to wrist pain and conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome. In addition to that, sitting too low can cause mouse elbow, a condition that occurs when you rest your elbow on the armrest instead of your entire forearm.
You must make another adjustment to ensure that your elbows are in the ideal position when using your mouse and keyboard. That adjustment is detailed later in this article.
If you do not have a height-adjustable gaming desk, you can make do with a fixed-height one. Just make sure that you get the ideal posture by adjusting the seat height and armrest height.
Adjust Your Chair's Armrests
Of course, every ergonomic gaming chair will not have adjustable armrests. However, if yours does, then make sure you capitalize on that.
So, increase or decrease the height so that your shoulders are supported and your elbows are at the same level as your wrists. Place your arms on your ergonomic desk for gaming when checking this adjustment.
Avoid gaming on a chair without armrests because the lack of support can result in conditions such as mouse shoulder. Mouse shoulder is when your elbow doesn't have support, resulting in you using your shoulder muscles to keep your arm in the correct position to use your mouse.
If you're looking for a high-quality ergonomic gaming chair with adjustable armrests in a relatively affordable package, then the GC02 model by FlexiSpot is worth considering. It can increase or decrease the height of your armrests so that your shoulders have the support they need. The adjustment range is also 2.8 inches, which is considerable.
Recline Your Seat to the Most Comfortable Angle
Users may believe that we must sit completely upright for great posture, but that's not the right way to look at it. So, instead of keeping your chair's backrest at 90 degrees, slightly recline it to anywhere between 100 degrees and 110 degrees. Sitting at 90 degrees may be awkward for your back and may cause you to lean forward slightly. As a result, you may start to have rounded shoulders, which can cause pain and discomfort in your lower back in the long term.
Reclining your seat beyond 110 degrees may help you relax, but you won't be able to maintain good posture and use your mouse and keyboard. You'll likely need to stretch your arms to reach the keyboard and mouse, and you may struggle to stay resting against your chair's backrest.
Place Your Keyboard and Mouse in the Correct Positions
Placing your keyboard and mouse in the correct positions is essential to maintaining good posture and staying comfortable during a gaming session. You should keep the following in mind to ensure your keyboard and mouse are placed perfectly for you.
Your keyboard and mouse should be shoulder-width apart. Thus, ensure that the keyboard hand is in front of one shoulder while your fingers are on the keys "WASD" and the mouse hand is in front of one shoulder. Place your mouse at the center of your mousepad when doing so.
Setting up your keyboard and mouse this way will help prevent your wrists from flexing excessively toward the right or left.
Bonus tip: Sit close enough to your desk so that you don't need to stretch forward to reach your keyboard and mouse. A good way to determine if you're close enough is to look at the angle of your elbows. The ideal position is at about 90 degrees.
Get a Lumbar Pillow for Your Gaming Chair
You can use any appropriate lumbar pillow for your gaming chair to offer your lower back additional support. If you're looking to buy a new ergonomic gaming chair, then the 1325 model comes with both removable lumbar and headrest pillows.
Adjust the Position of Your Screen
There are two screen adjustments you must make for ideal ergonomics. Ergonomics is a term used to describe setting up your seat and other equipment in a way to extract the most efficiency and productivity from them. Thus, setting up your screen's position helps ensure that your neck is in line with your back when you're sitting and that you don't need to lean forward to see better. Thus, you help reduce neck and eye strain. So, keep these two adjustments in mind.
Make sure that the upper half or quarter is at your eye level. This way, you won't have to look up or down to see your screen.
Place your screen at arm's length from your eyes. Doing so can help reduce eye strain and help you see everything perfectly without needing to sit up.
Final Thoughts
In addition to the tips mentioned in this guide on how to make a PC gaming setup more comfortable, make sure to take frequent breaks and hydrate yourself frequently.
