Stop for a moment and notice how you are sitting right now.
Is your back curved? Shoulders slumped? How about your legs… are they crossed?
The way you are sitting can have a transformative impact on your day. It’s hard to imagine that we might be doing damage to our body by simply doing nothing.
Nonetheless, our posture has a huge impact on our health, success, and overall happiness. We gathered some of our favorite surprising facts about posture habits that will make you want to take a stand for sitting straighter.
- Headaches: Poor alignment is the leading cause of headaches due to the strain put on the muscles of the neck.
- Tummy Trouble: Poor posture can lead to digestive challenges by compressing your organs, slowing down your digestive process and adversely impacting your metabolism.
- Text Neck: Tilting you head downward to read your phone can be the equivalent of 60 lbs of pressure. (This like carrying a small child on your neck.)
- Sleep Better: Poor posture may negatively impact your sleep. When the muscular system is out of alignment, we have a hard time fully relaxing.
- Mood & Motivation: Research has shown that bad posture correlates with bad mood and even less motivation. Sit up straight to stay focused and to boost your success at work!
- Productivity: Along those lines, proper posture boosts your productivity. Keeping your chest and core open and supported through proper posture helps your body function at its prime.
- Confidence: Taking a power pose – just by pushing your shoulders back and lifting your head – you boost testosterone, which helps with confidence, while lowering cortisol, which is associated with stress.
- Workout and Recover Smarter: Poor posture can overwork certain muscles which will lead to more fatigue and pain during and after a workout.
Overtime, poor posture takes a toll. If you are experiencing back pain, neck pain, headaches, and even digestive trouble, take a moment to check in with an experienced provider of Physical or Functional Medicine. We offer free consults at several convenient locations in Chicago for Chiropractic, Acupuncture, Massage Therapy, Functional Medicine and Clinical Nutrition!
Looking for better posture right away. Try these three easy steps.
