Improve Your Posture, Improve Your Physical AND Mental Health

We all live in an era where sitting for long periods of time cannot be avoided. It’s not always the sitting at home in front of the TV or computer screen that can cause us damage, but many of us have desk jobs where we are sitting from 8 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday for years. Not to mention many of us are commuting to work for an hour…sitting in our car. All this sitting adds up and the truth of the matter is that this ever increasing sedentary lifestyle is causing us damage.

There have been numerous studies on the dangers of sitting. According to a few studies that compared those who logged less than two hours after work watching TV to those with four or more hours:

• A nearly 50 percent increased risk of death from any cause associated to those with higher sitting times
• About a 125 percent increased risk of events associated with cardiovascular disease, such as chest pain (angina) or heart attack

Those are pretty eye opening statistics. However, it’s unlikely that you will be able to avoid sitting, whether at work, at home, or on your commute, but you can work on sitting with better posture...and better posture will lead to physical and mental health benefits.

Your mother was right to tell you sit up straight as there are plenty of benefits to sitting with good posture. It can help people appear taller and feel better about themselves and psychology studies have suggested that poor postures make people look less confident to others, and even feel less competent. Research studies have also shown that poor posture while sitting can influence a person's thoughts and feelings, and that improving posture could help to boost your mood and give you more energy.

It is also wise to pick up a lumbar or back support for your chair at work. It makes sense that if you are chained to a desk for eight to nine hours a day, you might as well sit comfortably with good posture. Keep an eye out next week for the benefits of a proper lumbar support at work. 

There isn’t a lot you can do to avoid sitting at your desk at work, however take the time to correct your posture and sit up straight. You will start to feel better not only physically, but mentally as well.

~Sean Hogan has coached hockey at the international and collegiate levels for over ten years. He has spoken at numerous events about culture building, goal setting and healthy lifestyles. He holds a Master’s of Science Degree in Recreation and Sports Science with an emphasis on Coaching Education from OHIO University.