You’ve probably heard it a million times: proper sitting posture is the key to a healthy lifestyle and a youthful appearance. If only you sat up straight in your desk chair all day instead of slouching or hunching over your keyboard. As it turns out, that’s not quite accurate. While sitting in the “correct” posture can help align your spine and keep pressure off your spinal discs, that isn’t necessarily the most important factor behind better posture.
After all, keeping your back supported and pelvis neutral is much more important for long-term health. Fortunately, there are still ways to improve your sitting posture even if you don’t have access to a sit-stand desk or ergonomic chair. Here are some tips to help you get started right away:
Get into a standing position at least twice a day
What’s the point of sitting down? After all, you’re only in one position for a few hours a day. Surely it’s better to stand while you work, right? Well, yes and no. Standing up actually has a few benefits of its own. These include:
– Increased oomph in your abdominal muscles to help protect your back and abdominal area from injury. – Increased circulation, which helps prevent physical and mental fatigue.
– Improved digestion and lessened chances of bloating and constipation.
– Improved digestion, absorption, and utilization of nutrients, especially when you’re eating protein-rich foods.
– Increased testosterone levels in your body, which is especially important for men.
Learn how to sit with good posture
If you want to improve your sitting posture, you’ll need to learn how to sit with good posture. Good posture isn’t just about keeping your back straight; it’s also about how you distribute your weight around your body and your head position while you’re sitting down.
Start with your shoulders down, back straight, and your weight balanced evenly between your heels and your buttocks. Keep your head up and slightly tilted forward, your chest lifted. Avoid hunching over or slouching, or rounding your back or arching your neck forward.
Don’t slump when you’re sitting down
We’ve all done it; you’re sitting down, feeling a little tired, so you slump over a little. You probably even think to yourself, “I’m just too tired to sit up straight.” But that’s not the case at all. Instead, it’s a result of fatigue that causes you to slump over.
That slump in your sitting posture is actually very harmful to your body and your health. It puts excess strain on your neck and lower back, which can lead to injury. Slumping also causes you to breathe out of your chest and take short, choppy breaths, which can increase your chances of feeling dizzy.
Keep your back straight and your chest lifted
When you’re sitting down, you want to keep your back straight and your chest lifted. It may sound like a no-brainer, but many people slouch when they’re sitting down. This causes their back to round forward and cause excess strain on their spinal discs. To keep your back straight, keep your chest lifted. This will encourage you to keep your back straight, rather than letting it curve forward.
You may be wondering why you want to keep your chest lifted; the reason has to do with breathing. Breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth is extremely important for good health. When you breathe out, you should feel your chest drop as you exhale. With each inhale, though, you should feel your chest expand.
Avoid extreme curvatures
Don’t let your back curve too far forward or curve too far backward. If it curves more than 45 degrees either way, it’s likely going to cause pain and other issues. Your back should also be straight, not arched or rounded.
With your back straight, you’ll be able to keep your chest lifted and avoid damaging your spinal discs. Keep in mind that these are extreme curvatures, but that’s actually normal for some people. If your posture is too good and you don’t notice any issues, you may want to experiment with altering your sitting position and posture to see if it improves your posture.
Conclusion
Proper sitting posture isn’t just about keeping your back straight and your chest lifted. It’s also about how you distribute your weight around your body while you’re sitting, and how you position your head. Start by standing up at least twice a day and keep your back straight, your chest lifted, and your weight balanced evenly between your heels and your buttocks.
When you’re sitting down, don’t slump or hunch over, keep your back straight, and keep your chest lifted. Avoid extreme curvatures and don’t let your back curve too far forward or backward.
