Slouching at work? Here are Five Reasons Why you should Stop
From maintaining a healthy weight to letting go of stress — proper posture at the desk can change your life for the better.
Maintain a healthy weight
This is not a “lose 10 pounds in a week” myth, but you may be able to burn close to 350 calories a day by adjusting your posture. This is because of the more even distribution of weight in your body. It has been found that when maintaining an unhealthy posture during long hours of sitting at a desk, one’s weight is concentrated in the body’s centre, as opposed to being distributed evenly.
Boost your mood
We all could benefit from a mood boost every so often. So next time you are at your desk and your mind starts to drift off into daydream land, try to set that as a posture alarm. Check if you are daydreaming about positive or negative things — dreams may be directly affected by your posture. Studies show that sitting upright and maintaining good posture throughout the day could make you feel more energized and positive, whereas unhealthy posture could result in feeling sad, negative thinking and loneliness.
Rid yourself of that awful back pain
Although there are very few things as satisfying as laying in bed after a long day’s work and feeling your lower back melt into your mattress, this may not sound as glorious to your practitioner. Pain in your lower back is caused by bad posture that builds up pressure in your lower back. When your posture is correct, your weight distribution changes and allows for your back to be more flexible and relaxed.
Let go of stress
Goodness knows none of us need any added stress in this world right now. Make sure that your posture isn’t adding any unnecessary burdens on you. Stress can build up and create a pile of tension that is reflected in your posture — and vice versa. By making small changes in your posture, you may be able to reduce negative thoughts and boost your self-esteem, as well as your positive thinking.
Get sh*t done
Procrastinating at work can be fun (and even helpful at times). But you came here to actually do work, so let’s find the best way for you to achieve that goal. When you sit upright you are more focused and observant. Slouching in your chair can result in a decrease of sweet sweet oxygen getting access to your brain and body, which in turn lowers your energy levels. So sit up straight and get to work!
You may be thinking, these benefits all sound great but how do we actually reap them? To aid in this process I have attached a video showing you how to adjust your posture to ultimately benefit you. This isn’t to say that these are all easy (although they really are). But, moreso to keep in mind and try to slowly change your habits and allow for you to live your best life.
