I'd consider myself about average height for a woman. When I sit down the chair tilts back immediately making it difficult to sit upright, also my feet don't touch the floor when sitting. As for reclining, I guess I expected a brand name Catnapper to be a little easier to sleep in. It maintains a v-shape when fully reclined, and I find this slightly uncomfortable. My 3 star average rating is because my husband enjoys the chair, although he too has trouble fully relaxing to take nap when it is fully reclined. The main reason for my interest in this brand was the steel construction of the frame. I read several reviews for other brands that the customers ha problems with broken wood slates early on. If I'd been able to see and try it out beforehand I probably would not have purchased it. But as I said my husband likes it so we made no effort to return it.