Sitting is the new smoking.
When you think of all the things that can threaten your life, I doubt you think of your chair at work or your couch at home.
However, there is growing evidence that sitting is one of the biggest potential threats to your health.
Researchers have found that you can reduce your risk of cancer, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and back pain if you simply reduce the time spent sitting.
There’s a growing body of research that supports claims of sitting being more dangerous than smoking.
We could be sitting ourselves to death.
So what are we to do? We just can't quit our jobs and start walking for a living.
Since most of us are confined to a desk chair for prolonged periods of the day, we have to do something to counteract the negative impact sitting is having on our bodies.
The first and easiest thing to do is be sure that when we are sitting, we are using good, efficient posture.
You can spot bad posture from across the room.
The person will be slouched, leaned over, or have a hunched back.
Below we will talk about healthy posture and the simple guidelines you can follow to be sure your spine alignment is correct.
Table Of Contents
- What Is Posture
- Support Your Back
- Correctly Adjust Your Chair
- Keep Your Feet On The Floor
- Take Regular Breaks
- Don't Just Sit There
What Is Posture?
Posture is the way you hold your body against gravity when you sit, stand, or lay down.
To have healthy posture, you need to train your body to sit, stand, and lie in positions that put the least amount of strain on supporting muscles and ligaments. Poor posture can lead to an array of adverse health effects, so take your body position seriously.
Proper posture will:
- Keep your bones and joints in the correct alignment so that muscles are being used properly.
- Help decrease the abnormal wearing of your joint surfaces that could result in arthritis.
- Decrease the stress on the ligaments holding the joints of the spine together.
- Prevent neck strains, shoulder pain, backache and muscular pain.
- Contribute to a good appearance.
- Improve your overall health.
- Prevent the spine from becoming fixed in abnormal positions.
- Prevent fatigue by using muscles more efficiently, allowing the body to use less energy.
- Prevent muscle tightness.
- Prevent strain or overuse problems.
Now that we have an idea of what posture is and can do, we can address other factors that influence your posture in everyday situations.
Support Your Back
The best thing you can do while you're sitting - especially for extended periods of time - is to support your back.
An ergonomic desk chair is designed to properly support your body and reduce the stress and friction on your muscles and bones while you sit.
They can be pretty expensive though, with the cheapest chairs starting over $100.
If you don't have, or don't want to spend that much money on a desk chair, there are a few other things you can do to support your back.
If your chair doesn't have lumbar support, grab a small, rolled-up towel. Or, a small pillow from home will also work.
When you slide back in your chair, place the towel or pillow between the chair and your lower back.
That towel or pillow will assist you in maintaining correct posture.
Make sure the towel or pillow isn't too large though, because that could force your spine into an awkward position, and create unnecessary muscle tension.
There are also pillows specifically designed for lumbar support of your spine's natural curve.
Those pillows will mimic the lumbar rest in your chair, so you don't have to invest in a new chair.
A lot of modern workplaces can either provide a standing desk or support your decision to have one in your office. Reach out to your office manager to see if it's an option.
Correctly Adjust Your Chair
Before you start working, move your seat up or down until your legs are parallel with the ground and your knees are even with your hips, creating a 90-degree angle.
Make sure your arms are parallel with the ground as well.
Ideally, your feet will be resting on the floor. However, if need be, you can use a stool or foot rest to elevate your feet to get into this position.
Next, plant your elbows by your side, and extend your arms into an L-shaped bend.
If you extend your arms too far away from your body, you could add stress to the muscles in your arms and shoulders.
Keep Your Feet Flat On The Floor
We often develop a habit of crossing our legs in our chairs or propping them up on the legs of the chair.
Although it's a comfortable position, sitting in a crossed-leg position can reduce blood flow and cause muscle strain.
If this sounds like you, you need to be mindful of this and put your feet back on the floor when you catch yourself doing it.
Once your feet are on the floor, make sure your body weight is distributed evenly across your hips.
Bend your knees at a right angle, and be sure your knees are even with your hips or slightly below to avoid excessive stress.
Your feet should be flat on the floor, so if you're wearing heels, remove them if possible. Or leave a pair of flats at your desk to wear while you work.
As we mentioned before, if your feet can't reach the ground, investing in a foot rest will be beneficial to you. They even make ergonomic foot rests if you're feeling really fancy.
Take Regular Breaks
Even if we are doing all the right things while we are sitting, we're still sitting.
The absolute best thing you can do is take frequent breaks, along with your daily lunch break.
Taking desk breaks often will keep your blood flowing and prevent muscle fatigue.
Stand up from your desk and stretch. Walk to the water cooler. Take a bathroom break.
Do whatever you need to do. Just get up and move to increase blood circulation again.
If you're feeling ambitious, do some calf raises and shoulder shrugs.
If you have the room, add in some lunges and squats. Regular exercise during the workday can help keep an array of health issues at bay.
Double the health benefits when you break by adding in a mini workout.
Many people get lost in their work, so set a timer to remind yourself to break.
A one to two-minute break every 30 minutes is ideal, in addition to your lunch break.
These breaks can also help with your mental clarity as well and keep you from getting burnt out.
At the very least, you should get up and move around once an hour.
Don't Just Sit There
With the evidence piling up, there are more and more reasons for you to get up and move.
Sitting at your desk all day won't only bore you, but it's starting to look like the health conditions that can kill you.
So when you sit, make absolutely sure you are using proper posture.
And most importantly, get up.
Sitting for eight hours on end is proving to be worse than smoking a pack of cigarettes.
So get up and move around.
Your future self will thank you for it.
If you liked this article, you should give these a look: