Posture has such a diverse effect on both your physical and mental well-being, often in ways that we wouldn’t even think about when living our day-to-day lives.
Correct posture is not only important for how we look and carry ourselves aesthetically, but also for many other reasons that may often get overlooked!
Here are three surprising risks that you may be taking, while practising poor posture, and what you can do to fix it.
1. Lack of Motivation
The amount of oxygen delivered to your brain is directly correlated to your body’s current position or posture. Poor posture reduces the amount of blood flow to your brain, resulting in less oxygen which helps us concentrate and stay motivated for longer periods of time.
So next time you hit the 3pm slump, try getting up and doing some light movement to get the blood flowing, and then when you sit back down, ensure that your posture is correct to keep that crucial blood flow going.
This idea can also extend beyond the office and through your day-to-day life. Having great posture helps you feel more confident, self-assured and ready to tackle the day head-on. So keep your head up and shoulders back… You’ve got this!
2. Disrupted Digestion
When slouching, your body is in an improper position for your organs and gut to work at their optimum capacity.
When you eat while slouching over at your desk or gazing down at your phone, you may impede digestion and increase your risk of constipation and acid reflux.
If you occasionally experience heartburn after eating, sitting up straight before and after meals may offer much-needed relief.
3. Future Bone Complications
Have you ever heard of Wolff's Law? A lesser-known but very renowned German anatomist and surgeon named Julius Wolff advanced the idea that over time, bones may grow and adapt to the repeated stresses and experiences we subject them to, simply by the way we live our lives. Regardless of the ongoing stress we experience, he proposed, our bones will remodel themselves to become more resilient to similar loads in the future.
This idea is crucial, because it shows us that we must be careful not to give the wrong messages to our bodies, potentially stunting their development and leading to health problems later in life.
Ensuring that you are practising good posture is a great place to start in ensuring that your bones are developing properly and will result in fewer pains and bone-related issues for your future self!
So what can you do?
The great news is, there are many things you can do to ensure this won’t happen to you in future. Starting with a great posture corrector and making sure to look after your body with exercise, stretching and proper nutrition will create great habits to carry on with later in life.
Try out the Posture Pal Pro, New Zealand’s #1 posture corrector HERE
And while you’re at it, give the Posture Pal Stretcher a go HERE
