5 Best Office Chairs That Recline For Naps

Rejoice, O secret work-nappers!

American business has embraced the work-nap. The work-nap is exactly what it sounds like – you’re at work, but you’re catching some zzz’s. In previous decades, that would have been a firing offence. Now though, the wisdom of occasional at-desk catnaps to power up staff has been accepted as a productivity booster.

It’s neither spinally safe nor remotely comfortable napping in a standard office chair. That’s why lots of firms are now making office chairs specifically designed to aid your napping.

Lots of firms.

So how do you find the best office chairs that recline for naps?

You don’t! That’s our job.

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Top 5 Best Office Chairs That Recline For Naps

Furmax Office Desk Leather Chair Lumbar Support

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The Furmax is a chair that looks all business, and yet for the most part, it lives its life for the game. Gaming chairs are by necessity packed with comfort features, and the Furmax is no different in that respect.

So while it looks like it’s ready for the weekly meeting, under its demure exterior, it’s all about long haul use and the occasional nap.

Like most gaming chairs, it has a larger than average seating area. That means that as well as accommodating office workers, gamers and nappers with more bounce in their booty, it gives you more space to hunker down for a quick nap.

It has a weight tolerance up to 280 pounds, which makes it suitable for 78% of Americans according to 2019 figures. The chances are you’re going to be safe relaxing between projects in the Furmax.

Safe is one thing, comfortable is another. Again, gaming chairs are often more padded, because when gamers get on a long campaign, they sometimes don’t move till moss grows on their northern slopes.

The Furmax brings three inches of comfort padding on the seat, and two inches on the backrest. It never goes out of its way to flaunt its padding like some gamer chairs, but the Furmax has got it all going on in terms of cushioning.

It’s got it all going on underneath soft PU leather too. So, pending Bring Your Blankie To Work Day, it’s going to give you the comfort you need to drift away for a power nap. That means you can have your butt-kicking creative dreams in its soft and leathery cocoon.

You’re welcome, for that image.

It’s a high-backed chair too, which gives you the best of both worlds – office chic, plus a flat, uncomplicated surface when reclined. Like lying on a massage table, the uncluttered straight back means it’s going to instil the urge to nap when it’s reclined, while encouraging productivity when upright.

There’s ventilation in the backrest, meaning less likelihood of uncomfortable clamminess when you use it as your nap station. And if you really want to get in touch with your Inner Child, the Furmax allows for a full rocking motion, so nurture that kid if you need to.

Oh, and if you’re worried to rock-a-bye baby in case the bough breaks, don’t panic – the Furmax distributes its napper-weight across five feet in a star formation. Think the Eiffel tower, but with a whole extra foot.

It’s not by any means a perfect reclining office chair for naps – there’s no dedicated headrest, for one thing. The tilt is relatively conventional, and without an extra footrest, you may well dangle precariously off the edge.

But for a reclining chair which plays like a gamer and works like it wants its office bonus, the Furmax is a fantastic combination.

Pros

• Large seating area
• Thick padding and leather comfort
• Rocking function
• Weight distribution through five feet

Cons

• No footrest
• No built-in headrest either

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EDITORS CHOICE

Racing Gaming Computer Chair

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Some chairs you just look at and go “Hot damn, I want to recline in that.”

You’re going to want to take a test nap in the Office Chair Computer Chair Ergonomic Design Racing Chair from BestOffice.

No, we don’t know what possessed them to call it that either. It sounds like a collection of words got together, took a random nap and forgot what they were there for. But don’t be fooled. It might have a name that’s chronically undercool, but that’s about where its failures begin and end.

Another high-backed chair, the chair from BestOffice is built to outlast anything you can do to it.

Ergonomically designed, it has adjustable lumbar support and an adjustable headrest. That means no matter how you squirm, you can find a comfortable, supported napping position that’s not going to wake you up with cricks and cranks. They’re also features of course which help you achieve your best results when you’re awake.

The seats here are bucket-style, for more sinking in, more cushioning, more long-term hardcore sitting without injury or strain. They bring lumbar support to your slumber party and your work day, but that’s only really the start of the story.

The hidden headline here is the 180-degree recline. That’s flat like a bed, which makes this a business-class napping chair. Rather than relying on some degree of tilt and swivel – boom. 180-degrees, no waiting, from chair to bed and back again. It can also be locked in place at any degree between the businesslike 90 degrees and that flat-out “I’m just resting my eyes” position. So you have control – alert and working, lolling and nodding, or flat-out power napping. Flip a switch, pull a handle and the office is your bedroom. At least for a little while.

It’s important to note that when you’re dealing with a full 180-degree recline, there’s a toll to pay – the maximum advised weight on this chair is 250 pounds.

Unlike the more staid-looking but game-hearted Furmax, this chair has its own in-built footrest, which helps with its recline for napping.

Watch out for the arms on the BestOffice contender though. Not only are they relatively isolated in space, creating an awkward aspect for napping, but they’re also known to be wobbly and to require regular tightening.

The design and styling are on the wilder side compared to the Furmax. Where that list-leading chair had a certain formality and reserve about its look, the BestOffice chair is full on, unashamed gamer, from its bucket seats to its racing color scheme.

As such, while it’s ridiculously good and filled with the technology you need to work hard and nap hard, its usefulness depends on the kind of office you’re in.

If you’re working from home – and more and more people are – there’s no drama to having this top quality chair at your desk.

But then if you’re working from home and you need a nap, technically speaking, you could just go to bed.

In a central office environment, you need a younger, trendier vibe to get away with something as in your face as the BestOffice chair. But in terms of doing the job as a napping recliner, it gets top marks all the way down the line.

Pros

• Full 180 degree recline
• Bucket seats
• Lumbar support
• Head and footrests

Cons

• Garish design might put off more staid offices – and more staid clients
• Armrests are awkward and known to regularly wobble

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BEST VALUE

Hbada Ergonomic Office Recliner

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So far, we’ve been all about the leather and padding. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that – leather and padding is a lifestyle, not an event.

But if you want an office full of reclining chairs for communal or individual nap time, you’re going to want something a little less conspicuously built like a comforter.

Cue Hdaba, king of the mesh-based office recliners for napping.

Built to look like many less reclinable mesh office chairs around the world, the Hdaba delivers an impressive napping capability to an office.

Built of steel and mesh, padding is not really on the cards here, beyond the 3 respectable inches of seat cushion. The back is covered in breathable mesh, meaning you won’t get too hot and sticky during your power naps, and will be able to finish the day feeling refreshed.

What there is instead of all the padding is an S-shaped ergonomic back strut, designed almost to cup the arch of your spine in a naturally comfortable position. That can help you stay pain-free when sitting up to work, and help you sink into a refreshing nap when you recline the chair.

Oh, that recline? 155 degrees. As such, it’s not a fully flat recline, like a bed, or like the BestOffice Chair of Dubious Nomenclature. On the up-side, 155 degrees is still more than reclined enough to let you drift off, without looking out of place in any corporate or administrative office.

Like some other chairs on our list, there’s no built-in footrest in the Hdaba. That means finding some place, some thing, or some one (we don’t judge) to put your feet up on is probably important to some users.

That said, the armrests, unlike those on the BestOffice chair, are connected to both the back and the seat, for a much more natural arm-resting position while you nap.

While most of the best reclining office chairs for naps are adjustable, it becomes a special feature on the Hdaba, because more or less everything’s adjustable.

Armrests, headrest height, headrest rotation, seat height, you can adjust it all. That means whether you’re knee-high to an intern or hitting your head on the ceiling, you can find the right position for an energizing power nap in the Hdaba Ergonomic Recliner.

Pros

• Strong steel construction for confident reclining
• Breathable mesh to keep you fresh
• Reclines to 155 degrees
• Most elements are adjustable to make a bespoke recliner
• Looks at home in a corporate office environment

Cons

• No footrest

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RUNNER UP

Sihoo Ergonomics Office Chair

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The Sihoo Ergonomics Office Chair, without impugning it in any way, is the chair you get if you can’t get hold of or afford the Hdaba.

What do we mean by that?

Simply that it’s got quite a lot of what you’d find on the Hdaba, but lacks just a little of this and a little of that.

What it has includes mesh backing for breathability, a strong steel construction, lumbar support for a comfortable spinal alignment whether sitting or reclining, and a lot of adjustable elements. The headrest, armrest and lumbar support are all adjustable.

That means that as with the Hdaba, you can more or less make your ideal Sihoo office chair, in the ideal position and proportions for your nap.

What you don’t get here that the Hdaba gives you is as much of a recline. The Hdaba takes you back 155 degrees, while the Sihoo takes you back to 125 degrees. That’s a slippery figure – it feels like there’s not that much difference between the two chairs.

But if you quickly do the math, you’ll see that the Hdaba actually gives you twice the recline from 90 degrees (upright) that the Sihoo manages. At 125 degrees, you’re not upright by any means, but you’re not necessarily napping either. Slouching, sure. Chilling, absolutely. Resting your eyes, sure maybe. But napping? Only possibly.

The armrests on the Sihoo too are akin to the BestOffice chair’s – isolated from both back and seat, they exist almost like forearm-stirrups, which might lead to aches and crankiness after a longer nap.

For all of that, the lumbar support and the science that’s gone into creating the Sihoo will give you a welcome screen-break. And it comes with a footrest too, which the Hdaba doesn’t provide, so there’s at least a visible commitment to taking the weight off your body while you nap.

Naps might not be as likely in the Sihoo office chair as they would be in chairs with a fuller recline. But the Sihoo remains a viable option at the top end of the market, and it has many fans worldwide.

Pros

• Breathable mesh
• Strong steel construction
• Adjustable headrest, armrest and lumbar support
• Footrest comes fitted as standard

Cons

• Limited recline of just 125 degrees

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RUNNER UP

Flash Furniture Executive Recliner

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Flash Furniture has a long reputation in the office chair market. Not that that should necessarily sway you.

But sometimes, reputation is a function of doing something really, really well. When you take a look at the Executive Recliner, it’s not as though choirs of sleepy angels sing you lullabies. But you do get the sensation of seeing a good thing done well.

The seat combines the usual padding with an extra health benefit in the form of a waterfall edge, to help your circulation when sitting for long periods of time. No pins and needles in the Flash Furniture Executive Recliner.

It’s a sturdily-built chair, allowing the almost-flat recline to operate without freaking you out. You always feel like the Executive Recliner has your back when you recline it. As with several others on our list, it’s fairly adjustable – height and recline position can certainly be adjusted and locked in place.

Again, there’s a trust that comes with both the Flash Furniture reputation and the feeling the chair gives you when you’re sitting in it.

It’s not going to set any offices or any worlds on fire, but by doing lots of small, important things really well, the Flash Furniture Executive Recliner more than earns its place on our list.

Pros

• Sturdy steel construction
• Almost-flat recline
• Thinks chair-fist – including a waterfall edge
• Plush and comfortable

Cons

• Watch the castors on this chair – they’ve been known to scratch floors

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Best Office Chairs That Recline For Naps Buying Guide

If you’re buying a reclining office chair so you or your staff can take power naps to reinvigorate them throughout the day, there are certain things to look out for.

Buy A Recliner!

Well, d’uh, right?

You’d be surprised. There are office chairs out there that recline a little. And then there are office chairs that recline a lot. All recliners are not made equal. Look for a recliner that gives you a good chance of actually napping, rather than one that just tips you slightly backward. That’s fun for no-one, because you don’t feel relaxed so much as it brings back memories of the dentist’s. Avoid, avoid, avoid.

Pick A Pathway

There are two main pathways in terms of office chairs that recline for naps. There’s the full-on gamer chair which envelopes the napper in padding and soft leather. Then there’s the more corporate, steel and mesh ‘office chair with a secret’ style, for more commercial office environments.

Pick your pathway and commit to it. Decide what kind of workplace you have, and then go for the most comfort available on your pathway.

Remember The Office

Never buy a reclining office chair just because it gives you good naps. Remember that at least 90% of its working life will involve supporting you in ergonomic comfort while you actually do your job. If you want something that’s just good for naps, buy a sleeping pod. Or even a bed. Always balance the choice of a reclining office chair against the reality of its working life.

Best Office Chairs That Recline For Naps FAQ’s

Why are we allowed to sleep at the office now?

Sometimes, it’s better to acknowledge the devil you know than pretend he doesn’t exist. Modern office culture can be draining. It’s actually more effective sometimes to embrace napping in the office if it refreshes people than it is to fight it and have people only half-awake, listless, and watching the clock. Power napping can improve effectiveness significantly.

Why do we need reclining chairs to nap at work?

Ever tried it in a standard office chair? The likelihood is you’ll slump, your spine will bend out of shape, and you’ll wake befuddled, woolly-headed and with a crick in the neck. If we’re going to allow napping at work, let’s do it properly, safely and comfortably.

Which is better for office napping, gamer chairs or mesh?

Better is actually relative. The decision on this will be down to office culture – if people are happy using gaming chairs in the office, go gamer! If they’re more commercial offices, steel and mesh is the way to go.