Today, overcoming bad posture is becoming a frequently asked question on search engines. Poor posture isn’t just a bad habit anymore; it’s now a health epidemic. It turns out your parents or grandparents were right when they asked to sit up straight.
Posture, according to Oxford languages, is the position in which someone holds their body while sitting or standing. While a handful of people understand the adverse effects bad posture has on the body, they do not fully realize the extent to which the issues can further degenerate. Increased stress and reduced productivity at work as, in fact, being linked to bad sitting and standing posture.
The human body was designed for constant motion. The change in the patterns of our habits, especially at work, has contributed to factors surrounding fatigue, depression, and pain. Between the Netflix marathon and crossing our legs, we have lost the sync of our postural muscles.
Read on to find out why and how you can get back in tandem.
Effects of Overcoming Bad Posture on Your Overall Health
Usually, one of the seemingly tricky parts of correcting your posture is remembering to adjust your sitting and standing positions accordingly. But it’s possible. It only requires consistency and determination. In just about 30 days, you’ll see the difference in how you look and feel.
Here are some of the benefits you’ll get from overcoming bad posture…
Muscles and bones
Bad posture puts direct stress on your muscles and bones, especially muscles in the neck and back. Pressure on specific ligaments, bones, and muscles can lead to stress overload and muscle imbalances. All of these factors contribute to back pain, osteoporosis, and muscle fatigue.
Tension headaches are also quite frequent in people with bad posture. Relieving tension in neck muscles will help in alleviating these throbbing headaches.
Correcting your posture can help in reversing these adverse effects on the musculoskeletal system. An ergonomic chair without a backrest can help you correct your slouching position, relieving stress on neck and back muscles.
Digestion
Studies have shown that sitting improperly, especially at work (where you may have to sit for long hours), can cause a stress load on your internal organs, specifically cramping your intestines.
Acid reflux, irritable bowel syndromes, and hernias are common digestive issues among slouchers—additionally causing stomach fat and abdominal pouches (which most people detest). Technically, adopting the correct posture, not only improves your overall health, but it also improves your outlook.
Depression and Stress
It’s easy to get irritable when you are improperly seated or standing, thus leading to increased stress levels – which almost always goes hand in hand with depression. As it is with digestion, bad posture puts stress on internal organs, which may lead to feelings of being overwhelmed, aggravated, and tired.
Stress and depression have gone on the mainstream in the United States in recent times. If something as simple as posture correction will bring reprieve and comfort, then I believe it’s worth a try.
Take a walk now, and compare the feeling of rejuvenation you’ll enjoy immediately.
Productivity Levels
At every point in time, you need to be delivering your best work. Efficiency and high levels of productivity are much needed in today’s competitive world. Slouching diminishes your focus and convinces you of feeling tired and unmotivated.
You can easily improve your alertness, eliminate fatigue and exhaustion, and increase productivity at work and in your personal space. With this simple hack, you get to look and feel more confident and self-secure.
Effects on Lung Capacity and Breathing
The lungs can function at full capacity when the rib cage and diaphragm has room to expand. Poor posture restricts your lungs and reduces oxygen flow around the body. Researchers have attributed this to the resulting feeling of fatigue and exhaustion. Asides from this, there is also the chance of struggling with respiratory problems, especially in slouchers.
Simple Exercises for Overcoming Bad Posture
Simple ergonomic adjustments can help you combat bad posture at work. Equally, there are exercises that you can engage in to correct bad posture and strengthen postural muscles. These exercises will help you loosen up tensed muscles, increase your body’s awareness, realign joints, and strengthen core muscles.
Do a Posture Check
It’s not enough to want exercises for overcoming bad posture; you should know where you want the exercises tailored towards. A posture check will give you an overview of what your posture looks like and where correction is needed.
How-to: stand straight with your back against the wall, your shoulder blades, head, and buttocks should be touching the wall. Get someone to measure the space between your neck and the wall, and also the space between the curve of your back and the wall. A measurement of more than 2 inches is indicative of a weak posture.
Child’s Pose
5 to 10 minutes of child’s pose everyday helps in strengthening your spine muscles. The exercise is quite simple and straightforward. Remember to breathe through the exercise.
Standing forward fold
This stretching exercise works on your hamstring muscles, reduces tension in the neck and shoulders and opens up the hip. Physical therapists usually recommend a 30-second interval between a repetition of this exercise for 4 minutes.
Cat-Cow
This stretch sequence increases spinal awareness and improves muscle balance along the back. It has a straightforward approach and is recommended to run for about 5 minutes.
Chest Stretch
Chest stretch is designed to reverse poor alignment and reduce back pain. This exercise is easy to do and can be incorporated into your tea break stretch exercises.
Core Strengthening Exercises
Planks are one of the most common and useful exercises in strengthening core muscles. It encourages spinal awareness and engagement of abdominal muscles.
Back Strengthening Exercises
Downward-facing dog and standing cow poses are two of the simple workouts you can use in overcoming bad posture. They are tailored explicitly at strengthening back muscles.
Yoga Classes
Yoga works on building flexibility, strength, and stability. The poses and positions incorporated in beginner yoga classes are useful in overcoming bad posture and building muscle strength.
Final thoughts on Overcoming Bad Posture
The exercises listed here are not all there is to overcoming bad posture, but they should get you started on the journey. One last thing, don’t forget to share this information with someone. We are here for another.
