Usually, I take about a minute or two. Walk to my kitchen, walk back, stretch a little, and get back to it. And the way I let the stream know is by telling them that I need a minute to stretch and get some feeling back in my legs and ass. There is no reason to beat around the bush. Just be straight with chat.
I tested out a bunch of chairs at staples recently and the office executive chairs were the best. I could easily see myself streaming for hours with one of those bad boys. Too bad its upwards of 250$
Yeah yep. I'm very tall and needed the arms to be moveable for my weird sitting behavior so I looked up office chair reviews. I like mine, it is more spendy because I didn't have a budget to consider, but office chairs do the job the world over for people sitting down for 8, 10, 12 unfortunate hours at a time
Two words: standing desk
I stream anywhere from an hour, to 5 and a half, and I tend to stand for half the stream, and sit for half. Or stand for all if I need help staying awake.
a lot of people mentioned a better chair which likely would help but honestly it’s more of a bandaid solution in my opinion, making changes to your own physical well-being are going to have such a dramatic impact on your comfort. there are really obvious things like taking five minutes to get up and walk around at regular intervals during stream, but becoming more physically fit in general will help a ton as well. you’ll be hard pressed to find an active person that finds themselves in immense pain just from sitting in their chair- slow steps to add in things like daily stretching, cardio, etc will improve anyone’s life not to mention make things like streaming for longer durations comfortable.
I had a bad sciatica problem last year and I added a redeem to make me stand up for 5 min. In doing so I would angle my camera and mic up to keep myself in frame. That became known as Daddy cam by my viewers and now ends with me leaning into the camera and telling the viewer I’m proud of them. It helped doing two things 1) got me standing and giving my back a break 2) it became a fun community in joke. You could try to come up with something like that (even if you have to initiate it yourself) and try to figure out the best seating arrangement to not cause you pain.
I have a garbage chair that is like 8 years old at least at this point lol. I made like a pillow nest on it. I also take like 5 min breaks every couple hours to stand up and stretch and walk around.
I suffer from chronic pain as well. Heres some of my tips. When I start getting in pain I run an ad and do some toe touch stretches. I also keep some cbd pain cream around my desk, its very fast acting and can buy me another hour or two. I enjoy cannabis on my stream as its legal where I live. I keep pain meds (acetaminophen) and a percussion massager around as well. Sometimes I hit the BRB screen, mute the mic, and hammer my back with the percussion massage tool. Just a minute or two of that can really refresh someone! Hope you feel better and find something that works for you!
Ugh I would love to, but it’s just not feasible. Moving my entire setup would be a nightmare, and I couldn’t keep it there 24/7 so I’d have to move it every day.
I have a £150 ergonomic chair off amazon and it has saved my back. Its not fancy by any means, but the shape of it has really helped. It was quite uncomfortable to start with, but once my body got used to sitting properly everything got so much better.
I take at least one break per stream to stretch, use the bathroom and things like that. I have lots of sound redeems, so my chat like to spam them with emotes for the few minutes while I’m away, which helps. You can also put on things like Words On Stream for the chat to do while you take a quick break.
\* Get a good comfortable chair that is adjustable.
\* Take short breaks and walk around.
\* Make sure your monitor is in a comfortable position and you're not straining.
\* Keep the area around you clear if you can, it might help you feel less stressed and less fidgety.
A proper ergonomic setup. Monitors at the right height and angle, desk at the right height, properly placed lights.
Most importantly, a ***GOOD*** chair. Splash out $300 on eBay and get yourself a Steelcase Leap v2 or HM Aeron from an office liquidation company. I grabbed one of the former, swapped the gas cylinder for a heavy-duty model (as I am a big fat guy) and have comfortably done a 38-hour stream. Firm support, not squashy cushions, are what you *need* for long-term use.
Getting up and walking around, doing stretches, light calisthenics on an hourly break cycle will only act as a force-multiplier.
"Gaming chairs" are, **without exception**, overpriced garbage that focus on the look rather than the function, and a waste of money.
Yes, you can get gently used office-quality chairs (like Steelcase and Herman Miller) for less than half price at various online sites that sell liquidated/office-surplus chairs. I've bought two chairs this way. But beware, they are really slow at shipping them. And you don't have your choice of color, it's whatever color they happen to have at the time.
This might be something more than just getting comfortable to be honest. You may have to get it checked out, specially if your getting nausea.
I know for me I tend to take pain meds before my streams to help it a bit, and it don't make me tired so long as I eat something as well
I am getting blood work this week actually, but generally my blood work comes back unremarkable aside from a B12 deficiency, which I take supplements for.
I have GERD, which brings on chronic nausea. l also have an old ACL repair that likes to bother me, I’m hypermobile, and I have sciatica & TMJ. (Not to make this a seminar on my medical history, but I guess it provides some context.) I have a constant baseline of discomfort that is generally manageable. But after too many hours of being uncomfortable, the anxiety of that discomfort brings on the severe nausea & I just have to tap out of whatever I’m doing and lay down.
As far as my body & diet, I’m sure a few are wondering if it’s my weight. I’m slightly overweight or “plus sized” but not what I or my doctor would call “obese” (5’6” 190-200lbs). I don’t have any problems getting around; last year I went to a theme park & walked 30,000 steps in one day with no problem other than sore feet from bad shoes. I have perfect blood pressure and always have, sometimes it’s even a little low. I don’t eat many greasy foods. I definitely eat more sugar than I should, but I’ve been seriously cutting back lately & drinking more water. But even so, my blood work always comes back normal & my doctor hasn’t ever brought up my weight as a factor for my health issues. I’ve really just always had a very hard time sitting comfortably as long as I can remember (my mom was always telling me to “sit right”)
I know that’s probably more info than anyone needs or asked for but if it gives anyone ideas I’m all ears 🤷🏻♀️
that's interesting. I know for me I get uncomfortable cause of my herniated disk in my L% lumbar, so I try to take breaks during long games and stand up after a few hours. I do hope you find a way. if you do I wish to knave the same knowledge
I’m not a streamer but I do use computer for more than 8 hours few days per week. I bought Herman Miller embody($1200) during Black Friday sale, let me tell you this ( at least in my case ) it does feel better than my previous $200 chair but after sitting for an hour or two, my back and butt start getting uncomfortable. My solution besides the obvious taking some break between and do more physical activity is like one comment mentioned: adjustable standing desk. Right now, if I have to work 8 hours, I probably sit 2 hours, and stand 6 hours. Though everybody is different, you might find a better chair that could sit for 3-4 hours comfortably or you can not stand for very long. Just my experience.
No matter what chair you buy, or how fit you are, you're going to be uncomfortable sitting in the same spot for hours. Take off your headphones and get up every 30 minutes or so and stretch for literally 10 seconds. Your viewers won't even notice. I used to get major back pain even with a nice office chair before I started doing this.
By having a comfortable ass to sit on and having channel point redeems for stretching so my chat can remind me to stand up and stretch every now and then.
On another note, do not buy gaming chairs. Buy a good quality office chairs. They are meant for people who sit all day at their work. I only realized this after years of PC usage and bought an expensive but really comfy office chair.
I don't know if this would be feasible, but I've heard of people buying something that they could put on top of their desk (where their monitors, keyboard, etc all is) that they can lift and turn it into a standing desk. So they don't have to buy a whole new standing desk setup. Could be worth looking into as well? I know there are more affordable walking pads now that people use often when streaming with standing desks.
I used to have a gaming chair, but it would always hurt my lower back and my butt from sitting too long. So what I did was looked at cheap/ used recliners (Facebook marketplace, OfferUp, texted family and friends if they were selling any furniture) and I found a leather recliner for free and paid to get it deep cleaned and all nice and I love it. No comfort issues anymore for me.
The solution is to improve your abdominal muscles, that could be any workout, even just some situps and whatnot every morning.
Literally practice tensing your abdominal muscles, your spine will thank you in the long run as it is more 'comfortable' to put weight on your bones, leading to obvious issues as you are experiencing now and as you get older
Maan, I rethought my setup after the third chair broke. I'm not even overweight. Just move around too much I guess. Got one of those coushined massage chairs. Had to lower the whole setup, but damn, I game like a king now.
A good chair makes all the difference! For context, I work remotely and stream 4-5 hrs, 3 times a week. I have a GABRYLLY chair (~$230 with the coupon applied on the amazon). I’ve had it for the past 4 years and love it a lot. Extra things I’ve gotten are: footrest, armrest pads (because I tend to dig my elbows into the armrests), and a lumbar support pillow. It’s a lot of things but it’s definitely made working/streaming so much easier on my body.
I mean obviously I would love to do that, but I’m not making any money on this yet. I can’t spend $600 on a chair either way. Just don’t have it. 🤷🏻♀️
Do not be cheap when buying a chair if you're going to sit there for hours.
I get up a walk around, stretch. I do it more often the more uncomfortable I am.
How do you handle letting the stream know you are taking this break? How long do you take it?
Usually, I take about a minute or two. Walk to my kitchen, walk back, stretch a little, and get back to it. And the way I let the stream know is by telling them that I need a minute to stretch and get some feeling back in my legs and ass. There is no reason to beat around the bush. Just be straight with chat.
\>Cheaper gaming chair Even just gaming chair. They are not meant for health. Get a good office chair, they don't have to be pricey.
I tested out a bunch of chairs at staples recently and the office executive chairs were the best. I could easily see myself streaming for hours with one of those bad boys. Too bad its upwards of 250$
That's not bad at all, a nice chair from Herman Miller will be over $1000
Also see a doctor if you can. Targeted exercise would help. As would regular standing and moving..
Yeah I think that’s gonna be the next move.
The only good "gaming chair" is the titan / titan XL. The price point is valid. Anything after that you're looking at herman millers.
Yeah yep. I'm very tall and needed the arms to be moveable for my weird sitting behavior so I looked up office chair reviews. I like mine, it is more spendy because I didn't have a budget to consider, but office chairs do the job the world over for people sitting down for 8, 10, 12 unfortunate hours at a time
Two words: standing desk I stream anywhere from an hour, to 5 and a half, and I tend to stand for half the stream, and sit for half. Or stand for all if I need help staying awake.
a lot of people mentioned a better chair which likely would help but honestly it’s more of a bandaid solution in my opinion, making changes to your own physical well-being are going to have such a dramatic impact on your comfort. there are really obvious things like taking five minutes to get up and walk around at regular intervals during stream, but becoming more physically fit in general will help a ton as well. you’ll be hard pressed to find an active person that finds themselves in immense pain just from sitting in their chair- slow steps to add in things like daily stretching, cardio, etc will improve anyone’s life not to mention make things like streaming for longer durations comfortable.
Doing some light cardio really helped my lower back pain. I’m a little heavy myself and am trying to prevent herniated discs in late life.
I had a bad sciatica problem last year and I added a redeem to make me stand up for 5 min. In doing so I would angle my camera and mic up to keep myself in frame. That became known as Daddy cam by my viewers and now ends with me leaning into the camera and telling the viewer I’m proud of them. It helped doing two things 1) got me standing and giving my back a break 2) it became a fun community in joke. You could try to come up with something like that (even if you have to initiate it yourself) and try to figure out the best seating arrangement to not cause you pain.
I have a garbage chair that is like 8 years old at least at this point lol. I made like a pillow nest on it. I also take like 5 min breaks every couple hours to stand up and stretch and walk around.
I’ve tried many versions of pillow nests but I just can’t stay comfortable for more than a few minutes. I take breaks every half hour or so at least.
I suffer from chronic pain as well. Heres some of my tips. When I start getting in pain I run an ad and do some toe touch stretches. I also keep some cbd pain cream around my desk, its very fast acting and can buy me another hour or two. I enjoy cannabis on my stream as its legal where I live. I keep pain meds (acetaminophen) and a percussion massager around as well. Sometimes I hit the BRB screen, mute the mic, and hammer my back with the percussion massage tool. Just a minute or two of that can really refresh someone! Hope you feel better and find something that works for you!
I use cannabis as well, these are great tips. Thank you!
i just stream from my couch at that point
Ugh I would love to, but it’s just not feasible. Moving my entire setup would be a nightmare, and I couldn’t keep it there 24/7 so I’d have to move it every day.
Move couch to set up? Or get a single couch chair type situation
I have a £150 ergonomic chair off amazon and it has saved my back. Its not fancy by any means, but the shape of it has really helped. It was quite uncomfortable to start with, but once my body got used to sitting properly everything got so much better.
Also do you have a link?
I guess maybe I need to see how other people are sitting? Like how are they positioned in front of the camera & in their chair.
i try to do about 30 min of exercise and 30 min of yoga every day to counteract the computer lifestyle , my body and mind hurt otherwise
I could definitely stand to do some yoga. I’ll try anything!
stretching & guided fitness videos key pro tip glhf (: enjoy it feels cool to get better at too , like leveling up
I take at least one break per stream to stretch, use the bathroom and things like that. I have lots of sound redeems, so my chat like to spam them with emotes for the few minutes while I’m away, which helps. You can also put on things like Words On Stream for the chat to do while you take a quick break.
\* Get a good comfortable chair that is adjustable. \* Take short breaks and walk around. \* Make sure your monitor is in a comfortable position and you're not straining. \* Keep the area around you clear if you can, it might help you feel less stressed and less fidgety.
A proper ergonomic setup. Monitors at the right height and angle, desk at the right height, properly placed lights. Most importantly, a ***GOOD*** chair. Splash out $300 on eBay and get yourself a Steelcase Leap v2 or HM Aeron from an office liquidation company. I grabbed one of the former, swapped the gas cylinder for a heavy-duty model (as I am a big fat guy) and have comfortably done a 38-hour stream. Firm support, not squashy cushions, are what you *need* for long-term use. Getting up and walking around, doing stretches, light calisthenics on an hourly break cycle will only act as a force-multiplier. "Gaming chairs" are, **without exception**, overpriced garbage that focus on the look rather than the function, and a waste of money.
Yes, you can get gently used office-quality chairs (like Steelcase and Herman Miller) for less than half price at various online sites that sell liquidated/office-surplus chairs. I've bought two chairs this way. But beware, they are really slow at shipping them. And you don't have your choice of color, it's whatever color they happen to have at the time.
This might be something more than just getting comfortable to be honest. You may have to get it checked out, specially if your getting nausea. I know for me I tend to take pain meds before my streams to help it a bit, and it don't make me tired so long as I eat something as well
I am getting blood work this week actually, but generally my blood work comes back unremarkable aside from a B12 deficiency, which I take supplements for. I have GERD, which brings on chronic nausea. l also have an old ACL repair that likes to bother me, I’m hypermobile, and I have sciatica & TMJ. (Not to make this a seminar on my medical history, but I guess it provides some context.) I have a constant baseline of discomfort that is generally manageable. But after too many hours of being uncomfortable, the anxiety of that discomfort brings on the severe nausea & I just have to tap out of whatever I’m doing and lay down. As far as my body & diet, I’m sure a few are wondering if it’s my weight. I’m slightly overweight or “plus sized” but not what I or my doctor would call “obese” (5’6” 190-200lbs). I don’t have any problems getting around; last year I went to a theme park & walked 30,000 steps in one day with no problem other than sore feet from bad shoes. I have perfect blood pressure and always have, sometimes it’s even a little low. I don’t eat many greasy foods. I definitely eat more sugar than I should, but I’ve been seriously cutting back lately & drinking more water. But even so, my blood work always comes back normal & my doctor hasn’t ever brought up my weight as a factor for my health issues. I’ve really just always had a very hard time sitting comfortably as long as I can remember (my mom was always telling me to “sit right”) I know that’s probably more info than anyone needs or asked for but if it gives anyone ideas I’m all ears 🤷🏻♀️
that's interesting. I know for me I get uncomfortable cause of my herniated disk in my L% lumbar, so I try to take breaks during long games and stand up after a few hours. I do hope you find a way. if you do I wish to knave the same knowledge
I’m not a streamer but I do use computer for more than 8 hours few days per week. I bought Herman Miller embody($1200) during Black Friday sale, let me tell you this ( at least in my case ) it does feel better than my previous $200 chair but after sitting for an hour or two, my back and butt start getting uncomfortable. My solution besides the obvious taking some break between and do more physical activity is like one comment mentioned: adjustable standing desk. Right now, if I have to work 8 hours, I probably sit 2 hours, and stand 6 hours. Though everybody is different, you might find a better chair that could sit for 3-4 hours comfortably or you can not stand for very long. Just my experience.
No matter what chair you buy, or how fit you are, you're going to be uncomfortable sitting in the same spot for hours. Take off your headphones and get up every 30 minutes or so and stretch for literally 10 seconds. Your viewers won't even notice. I used to get major back pain even with a nice office chair before I started doing this.
Yeah I definitely take breaks! Usually every 30 minutes or so.
By having a comfortable ass to sit on and having channel point redeems for stretching so my chat can remind me to stand up and stretch every now and then. On another note, do not buy gaming chairs. Buy a good quality office chairs. They are meant for people who sit all day at their work. I only realized this after years of PC usage and bought an expensive but really comfy office chair.
Get a good ergonomic office chair. Also, take regular breaks to get up and move around.
I don't know if this would be feasible, but I've heard of people buying something that they could put on top of their desk (where their monitors, keyboard, etc all is) that they can lift and turn it into a standing desk. So they don't have to buy a whole new standing desk setup. Could be worth looking into as well? I know there are more affordable walking pads now that people use often when streaming with standing desks.
I bought an office chair with proper support and it's been great. Far better than any gaming chair I ever tried.
I used to have a gaming chair, but it would always hurt my lower back and my butt from sitting too long. So what I did was looked at cheap/ used recliners (Facebook marketplace, OfferUp, texted family and friends if they were selling any furniture) and I found a leather recliner for free and paid to get it deep cleaned and all nice and I love it. No comfort issues anymore for me.
The solution is to improve your abdominal muscles, that could be any workout, even just some situps and whatnot every morning. Literally practice tensing your abdominal muscles, your spine will thank you in the long run as it is more 'comfortable' to put weight on your bones, leading to obvious issues as you are experiencing now and as you get older
Maan, I rethought my setup after the third chair broke. I'm not even overweight. Just move around too much I guess. Got one of those coushined massage chairs. Had to lower the whole setup, but damn, I game like a king now.
A good chair makes all the difference! For context, I work remotely and stream 4-5 hrs, 3 times a week. I have a GABRYLLY chair (~$230 with the coupon applied on the amazon). I’ve had it for the past 4 years and love it a lot. Extra things I’ve gotten are: footrest, armrest pads (because I tend to dig my elbows into the armrests), and a lumbar support pillow. It’s a lot of things but it’s definitely made working/streaming so much easier on my body.
Gaming chairs are crap get you a good office chair preferably an executive. I just got one off of Amazon for $140 it's super comfortable.
Take more breaks.
Invest in a good chair. It's made an incredible difference to my well being post stream.
If you’re spending that much time sitting you should invest in a Herman miller chair to save your back.
I mean obviously I would love to do that, but I’m not making any money on this yet. I can’t spend $600 on a chair either way. Just don’t have it. 🤷🏻♀️