TA PIS
COMFORT FACTORS
A scientific approach to reducing passenger discomfort enables Tapis Corporation
to offer seating materials that can enhance the passenger experience
O
ver the last few years, one of
the most talked about issues
in aircraft interiors has been
comfort, and with good reason. Maximising
the use of space is often portrayed in the
media as being inversely related to a good
passenger experience. In other words,
there’s the perception that the more seats
on an airplane, the more uncomfortable
the trip. However, thanks to innovative
new designs and high-performance seat
cover materials, that perception is
increasingly untrue. How comfortable
are these new, space-saving seats?
It is actually very difficult to measure
comfort, but it is easier to measure
discomfort. It follows, then, that the
definition of comfort is a descriptor of
something that alleviates pain and
discomfort and eases a person’s feeling
of grief or distress. Comfort is the
effective elimination of discomfort.
In defining the problem, the first thing
we should review is the human factor:
how do our bodies support us when
we sit? Our bodies consist of three key
components: the skeleton, muscles and
organs. The skeleton is our structural
framework, able to support loads and
stresses and acting as scaffolding for the
rest of our body. Our muscular system
is the engine of our bodies and enables
movement and work to be carried out.
Each muscle has a corresponding opposite;
for example, the arm has a bicep to
contract and a tricep to extend as our arms
leverage loads such as our daily shopping.
Finally, the remaining components are
our organs; in this group we have the liver,
kidneys, brain, skin, nerve endings and
anything else that does not fit into the
first two categories.
When we sit, we sit on two bones,
known as the ischial tuberosities or ‘sit
bones’. The sit bones are part of the pelvis
and form a triangle with the coccyx when
one sits. When sitting upright, the back
and upper body are supported by the
spine. The bones in the vertebrae are fully
capable of supporting you, but only as long
as you sit upright. If one starts to slouch
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discomfort ensue, and by the time the
flight lands, the passenger walks off
the aircraft with a very sore neck.
Core body temperature and the feeling
of moisture are other factors that can
cause discomfort. Our bodies are very
sensitive to temperature and maintain a
very specific range. 65°F is the optimum
temperature for sleeping, and even small
variations of 5°F or less can cause
sufficient discomfort to disrupt sleep.
1
and move the spine out of alignment, the
muscles compensate and extend. If one
sits in this position for a prolonged period
of time, with the associated contraction,
lactic acid starts to build up to signal that
the muscle needs to move, and feelings
of discomfort grow. When slouching, the
head protrudes forward so it is no longer
in alignment or supported by the spine,
instead being held in place by the neck
muscles. The lactic acid builds up, pain and
Tapis has offered
environmentally
conscious products
for more than
40 years
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