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BBC Science Focus

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April 2025

With just under half of us still working from home, to one degree or another, here's our pick of the products that can help improve your health and power up your productivity

- by DANIEL BENNETT

Level up your desk

Sit happens

Sitting is a dangerous business. As a pro-sitter myself, I've been benched by three office-chair related injuries in my career, including tennis elbow, which at the time seemed particularly cruel since I'd never set foot on a tennis court. The point is, I've now been injury-free since I bought a Herman Miller Aeron (with my own money). The key to its comfort is the 'Pellicle': the thin mesh across the chair that cradles you as though you're being held aloft by a sports massage therapist named Sven.

Aeron Office Chair

£1,372, ukstore.hermanmiller.com

imageI'm all ears

Desktop speakers give your ears a rest from headphones and, around these parts, loud music kickstarts Happy Hour (between 5 and 6pm if you're coming over). If you're looking to invest in something that sounds and looks great, and will last, it's hard to look past the Debut ConneX from German audiophile brand ELAC. They have ports for everything you might want to plug into them, but also work wirelessly via Bluetooth.

ELAC Debut ConneX Adsum

£529, elac.com

imageMarginal gains

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