Do you ever feel backache after a particularly long Zoom session? With the drastic rise in working from home, most of us spend a lot more time sitting for hours on end, making it easy to hunch over as we become fatigued.
Sit up straight! A common request from childhood and probably the first time you ever heard about posture. The way you hold your body is about more than how you look. You may think lousy posture only affects how tall you appear, but the scary truth is that it can affect both your physical and mental health. Research studies (Link to – https://www.thejoint.com/arizona/chandler/ocotillo-48017/how-posture-can-affect-mental-health) suggest posture affects your mental wellness with correlations found between the way we sit and our overall mood.
You may strive for good posture for its various physical health benefits, such as reduced muscle pains and backaches, but what about the mental health benefits?
Depression
Slouching is a despondent body posture that can lead to feelings of depression or decreased energy. The good news is, sitting and walking in an upright position can reverse these feelings. Altering one’s body posture to a better position improves both mood and energy levels.
We tend to see the brain and body relationship as a linear one, but in fact, the passages go in both directions. When we choose to put our bodies in a different mode, it’s harder to drop into depression. Similarly, to how movement and exercise open up biological pathways that increase happiness and energy, so too can posture.
Back Pain and Fatigue
If you find your body is often tired, achy, tight or stiff for no reason, then you should look at your posture as a possible cause. If you have bad posture, your back muscles need to work harder, causing physical stress and leading to pain. This pain negatively impacts our mental health and is associated with an increased likelihood of depression, psychosis, anxiety, stress, and sleep disturbances.
Bad posture also means energy is wasted when you move, draining you of the extra energy needed to feel good. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have the energy to waste. Most days, I am left wishing I had more left in the tank.
Stress
I don’t want to stress you out – but poor posture can cause increased levels of stress. When you slouch while sitting, your positioning affects your breathing. Your chest becomes shallow, and breathing strains your lungs. Your lungs then need to move faster to ensure you have adequate oxygen flow, which taxes the heart and forces it to speed up. The result is a hamster wheel of shallow breathing, which creates more stress on the body, and nobody has time for that!
How to Improve Your Posture and Avoid Back Pain
Have you been scared straight yet? Good, because it’s time to fix your posture! You need to nestle yourself into the world’s most comfortable, portable desk: The Edge Desk System. (Link to – https://theedgedesk.co.uk/)
Get your work done comfortably with the desk of productivity dreams. This multipurpose desk can be used for work and play. (Link to – https://theedgedesk.co.uk/the-edge-at-work-play/) Its sleek design breaks the traditional desk’s mould while encouraging better posture and was featured in GQ magazine (Link to – https://theedgedesk.co.uk/gq-magazine/) in their ‘Technically Speaking’ column. Create the ultimate environment for efficiency, maximised focus and a healthy workflow.
The Edge Desk comes fully assembled and is only a few easy steps from stow to go. The desk sets up in the blink of an eye, well under 30 seconds. The Edge combines a kneeling chair with an adjustable work surface to create a unique work environment anywhere, anytime. This fully portable piece of equipment doesn’t take up much space when stored either, as it folds down to just 6 inches. Get the all-in-one ergonomic solution to lousy posture and avoiding back pain while realising your true work potential.