What Is a Zero Gravity Lounge?

How They Work

• Zero gravity recliners place you in a seated position with your joints bent at the knees and hips. The chair gently tilts you back until your feet are higher than your heart. According to Christina Lasich, MD, a pain management and spine rehabilitation specialist from Grass Valley, CA, you can undergo inversion therapy while in a straighter, prone position; however, the seated position is more beneficial because it places less stress on your circulatory system and spine.

Benefits

• In addition to simply being comfortable and relaxing, proponents of zero gravity lounge chairs report that reclining with your feet higher than your heart reduces spinal pressure and heart pressure, reduces muscle tension, provides expanded lung capacity, improves circulation and increases blood oxygen levels. All of these benefits are said to improve your health in a number of ways, including relieving back pain and enhancing your body's natural ability to heal itself.

Drawbacks

• Dr. Lasich cautions that inversion therapy can be hard on the circulatory system and can also be stressful on the skeletal system. She writes that in many cases the benefits of a zero gravity chair outweigh the drawbacks but advises people who are considering purchasing a zero gravity chair to check with their physicians first, start off slowly when first using it, incrementally increasing the height of your feet and the length of time you sit in it.

Cost

• Zero gravity lounge chairs can be expensive. A quick Internet search reveals that while less-expensive options are available and can be purchased for as little as $40 in June 2011, these are usually the folding type similar to beach chairs. Fully upholstered models can cost more than $2,000 or more than $4,000 for models with extra bells and whistles such as heat, massage or vibration.