10 Reasons Why Good Posture Can Improve Your Health

Good posture. According to most, it’s something we should all be striving for. But is it really that important?

It never feels like anything is wrong as you sit slouching over your computer screen, but are there hidden costs to your body?

Here we’ll take a look at some of the most prevalent ways that maintaining good posture throughout your day can improve your health.

Table of Contents

What is Good Posture?
Here’s How It Can Improve Your Health…
How to Maintain Good Posture:

What is Good Posture?

Good posture means going about your day-to-day business in a way that keeps your muscles and joints in their natural places. It should be comfortable, and it should reduce any unneeded strains.

For example, your spine should always be in its natural shape of an S-curve.

Here’s How It Can Improve Your Health…

1. A Reduction in Back Pain

Back pain is something that an estimated 4 in 5 of us will experience.

With a good posture, especially while sitting down, your muscles and ligaments will be able to easily hold your body weight and keep you balanced.

This avoids unnecessary stress on the joints of the lower back; this in turn reduces back pain.

There are three natural curving points in a human spine, and bad posture disturbs these. Good posture will alleviate any extra pressure on your inter-vertebral discs.

2. Decreased Likelihood of Joint Conditions

Over time, bad posture will lead from the back pain described above to more serious conditions. These include degenerative osteoarthritis, often due to the bones of your body being improperly aligned.

Your ligaments and joints are therefore under continuous strain. Studies show that people with good posture are far less likely to develop a condition like this as they grow older.

3. Less Muscle Fatigue

Spending a prolonged length of time in a position of bad posture can quickly fatigue your muscles.

Good posture is all about holding your body up against the constant downward force of gravity in the most efficient and ergonomic way, and if you have bad posture your muscles have to do more work every second just to keep you standing.

This quickly leads to problems of muscle fatigue and soreness; after time this can worsen and you may develop muscle strain. Good posture alleviates this – a welcome bonus first thing in the morning!

4. An Increased Range of Motion

Sometimes bad posture can lead to a permanent shortening or lengthening of muscle groups. For example, if you bend over a desk all day, your core muscles in your stomach are always compressed.

Eventually your range of motion will be limited. Good posture completely avoids this, and stretching regularly will increase your range of motion.

5. A Reduction in Athletic Injuries

Many athletic injuries are related to bad posture. It places extra strain on an area of your body, and as you exercise other muscles and ligaments work harder in an attempt to compensate for this. Often this leads to strains, tears or generally tight muscles.

6. Better Breathing Capacity

A good posture is the ideal position for your lungs to expand, because it offers them the maximum room available. With more room for expansion, you can increase your oxygen intake.

This point is especially useful for singers or musicians, whose performance may be affected by incorrect breathing technique.

7. More Confidence

A good posture doesn’t just have physical effects on your health. It can help your mood and attitude in a variety of ways! You’ll feel and look more confident, which is very important in situations like job interviews or formal meetings.

You’ll look younger, and feel happier. Studies have shown that slouching can actually heighten existing feelings of sadness or depression; good posture can offer a way out of that mindset.

8. An Improvement in Circulation

Sitting in certain positions can limit circulation flow to specific areas. For example, sitting with your legs crossed can inhibit blood flow to that area and applies extra pressure to it. Occasionally this can lead to spider veins.

9. It Can Break You Out of the Cycle of Bad Posture

Bad posture is a cycle that keeps getting worse the longer it is left unattended. As you stick to bad habits, your muscle memory will reinforce the position and your vertebrae start to move out of alignment.

Once this has happened, muscle tension becomes worse, leading to a continued decline in posture. Starting to focus on good posture as soon as possible will stop this!

10. Fewer Headaches

Although the two seem unrelated, bad posture can cause headaches. Predominately at the base of your skull, these headaches are caused by too much tension in the neck and shoulder muscles, often due to a slumped-over sitting position.

Fittingly, these are referred to as tension headaches. Sitting in an upright position with good posture reduces these drastically.

How to Maintain Good Posture:

10-reasons-good-posture-can-improve-your-health Now that you’ve seen what benefits it can bring, here are some quick and easy tips to follow to maintain good posture.

When sleeping or at least when falling asleep, sleep on your back. If you sleep on your side, do so with a pillow under your head and between your knees to keep your spine straight.

When sitting at a computer or desk, sit up straight with your feet flat on the ground and take regular breaks.

When standing, avoid slouching! Keep your head up and shoulders slightly back.

By far the best way to ensure continued good posture is to train your core muscles through exercises such as Pilates or yoga.

Doing this regularly will give your muscles the strength to work correctly, and you’ll have more awareness of which muscles to engage in different situations. Over time, you’ll have wonderful posture!

Health by choice, not by chance.

-David Aston

10 Reasons Why Good Posture Can Improve Your Health

What is Good Posture?