Harley Pasternak is a celebrity trainer and nutrition expert who has worked with stars from Halle Berry andLady Gagato Robert Pattinson and Robert Downey Jr. He’s also aNew York Timesbest-selling author, with titles includingThe Body Reset DietandThe 5-Factor Diet. Tweet him@harleypasternak.
If you’re like most people, you probably spend the better part of your day sitting at your computer, in your car, on the couch or at the dinner table.
HowNotto SitNot only are we sitting too much, we also often aren’t sitting properly. Whether you’re standing or sitting, poor posture contributes to a range of health problems, including neck, back and joint pain.
Slouching helps create those problems. This “cultural” posture is responsible for the current epidemic of neck, shoulder and lower back pain issues. A study of more than 6,000 Finnish teens found that heavy use of laptops, cell phones, televisions and videogame players was associated with greater rates of such pain. The habit of leaning forward while texting has actually has given way to the descriptive term “text neck.” According to a study published inSurgical Technology International, that position is equivalent to carrying a 60-lb. weight on your neck!
Over time, your neck, head and shoulders can begin to hunch forward, meaning your spine is no longer vertically aligned, making you appear shorter and plumper, or even potbellied — even if you don’t actually have a belly.
Learning toward your desktop computer or holding your neck forward and down, as you do when your computer or e-reader is in your lap, compresses your neck and increases the strain on it and your shoulders. Sit like this regularly and you can stretch the trapezius muscles, tighten the pectoral muscles in your chest and shorten the muscles in the front of your neck.
Instead, sit tall with your shoulders back and down and make sure your chair supports your lower back well. Horseback riders have long known that the higher you sit in the saddle, the more secure you are in the saddle and the less likely to get saddle sores — and the same applies for your chair.
Sit BetterGood seated posture is also associated with a good mood. While depression can result in slumped posture, it now appears that the reverse is also true: Slumping in your chair can actually cause negative thinking and emotions.
In another study, college students rated their energy and depression levels before being told to walk in a slumped posture or to skip. Afterward the skippers reported being more energized, happier and reminded of childhood memories. The poor slouchers had less energy than when they began and felt sad and solitary. Wow!
Posture PointersIf you must sit for much of the day, try to take a break every 20 minutes or so. Get off your butt and roll your shoulders and neck. Walk around for a couple of minutes to improve your circulation. Try using aposture corrector. And remember this advice when sitting:
– Your ears should align with your shoulders.– Your shoulders should be over your hips, your hips over your knees and your knees over your ankles. You should also have a slight curve in your lower back.– Imagine that your chair is a saddle and sit high.
Now sit on that!
source: people.com
