How better posture can improve your overall health

Exercise and eating more fruits and vegetables are not the only ways to maximize health and lengthen life. Living a longer life and preventing health problems like neck and back discomfort, breathing difficulties, poor athletic performance, digestive troubles, muscle exhaustion, and hormone imbalance—disorders that can deteriorate over time if left untreated—need maintaining good posture.

According to Praveen Mummaneni, a spine surgeon at the University of California, San Francisco, “as we age, our joints and ligaments become less elastic and less adaptable to poor posture, which can eventually lead to nerve or spinal cord compression, poor tolerance of physical activity, and chronic pain.”

Not only may proper posture help you prevent these issues, but it also offers advantages including higher energy, better coordination, better balance, sharper thinking, and greater self-assurance.

According to Laura Deon, a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist at Chicago’s RUSH University Medical Center, “proper posture also allows you to distribute your weight evenly, which is important because when your musculoskeletal system is in proper alignment—allowing your body to function more effectively with less joint and bone stress and overall decreased wear and tear.”

Here are some tips for maintaining good alignment through posture, along with the potential benefits to your bodily and mental well-being.

What is good posture?

No matter how many times you were told as a child to “sit up straight” or “stand straight,” you don’t have to have a perfectly straight back to understand the importance of proper posture.

Rather, it is important to recognize that the spine naturally curves, advises Brook Martin, an orthopedics research associate professor at the University of Utah School of Medicine.

According to Mummaneni, this indicates that the spine “curves backward at the low back, forward at the upper back, and then backward again in the neck” when viewed from the side. According to him, this places the torso over the hips and the head over the neck, which is the optimal alignment for preserving proper posture.

This means that when you sit, your knee/hip angles should be larger than 90 degrees and your feet should remain flat on the floor. According to Drew Schwartz, a chiropractor and preventive medicine specialist at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, “your ears and head should be in line with your shoulders, your shoulder blades should be slightly down and in, and your forearms should also be supported by the desk or armrest.”

As for standing, he says you should have your feet shoulder-width apart, your knees freed, your hips and knees aligned, your shoulders a little bit back, and your ears squarely over your shoulders. “If you are standing, your weight should be evenly distributed on each foot,” explains Deon.

Plenty of mobility is another aspect of good posture.

According to Schwartz, “most people think of posture as static positioning.” “But the best posture guidelines encourage movement and fluidity whenever possible.”

How posture impacts physical health

Numerous scientifically demonstrated physical benefits of maintaining good posture include less risk of sports injuries, less tension in the muscles, bones, and joints, fewer stress injuries, enhanced vitality, and better balance.

“Having good posture minimizes the amount of stress on all your muscles by decreasing the amount of work they have to do,” explains Mummaneni. According to him, having a well-aligned and healthy musculoskeletal system can also shield your nervous and circulatory systems from problems like pinched nerves, abnormal signals, hormone imbalances, and repetitive motion injuries like tennis elbow and carpal tunnel syndrome.

A properly oriented musculoskeletal system also lessens the likelihood of disc herniation and nerve compression-related back, arm, leg, and neck pain.

“Biomechanical and cohort studies have demonstrated that people who have deviations from the body’s natural position have increased and uneven pressure on intervertebral discs—the fibrous and gel-filled structure that cushions the vertebrae, contributing to back pain,” explains Martin.

Conversely, studies have demonstrated that correcting one’s posture can help ease pain in the shoulders and back, as well as providing one with the “muscle strength and power gained from good posture,” according to Kevin Weaver, an assistant clinical professor of physical therapy at New York University. “In short, good posture allows the body to move more effectively and efficiently,” he explains.

Also, as you age, you have a lower chance of falling or needing surgery. “People with good posture often avoid having hip and knee replacements as they age,” explains Mummaneni. According to Deon, it can also lessen the risk of hemorrhoids and circulation-related problems including tension headaches and painful or achy muscles.

Breathing can also be improved with proper posture. According to Schwartz, a slouched posture is linked to inefficient respiratory patterns because it compels the body to breathe more from the upper chest. Diaphragmatic breathing, on the other hand—also referred to as belly breathing—”is more efficient and stimulates relaxation pathways within the body,” he says.

According to Deon, good posture can also aid in digestion, reducing your risk of developing problems with heartburn, constipation, and elevated blood sugar.

This is significant since it might take years for many of the greatest health effects of bad posture to become apparent.

“Unfortunately, most people don’t realize they have bad posture until it becomes a health problem,” says Vietta Wilson, a health scientist and kinesiologist at York University in Toronto, Canada.

A healthy mental disposition

In addition to these health benefits, good posture can enhance your social, academic, and professional life as well as your mental well-being.

“Research shows that good posture can actually help you remain more focused since we know the mind wanders more in people who are lying down versus those who are standing or sitting,” explains Deon.

It has also been demonstrated that good posture can elevate mood and lessen depressive episodes, she continues.

“Compressed nerves can diminish cognitive function and even feelings of motivation,” she explains.

The Ohio State University’s eminent professor and researcher Richard Petty co-authored a study that demonstrated that sitting with good posture might “enhance feelings of confidence” more than slouching. “Having good posture can make you feel more confident and even improve your overall life satisfaction,” he explains.

Additionally, good posture can enhance relationships and interpersonal interactions. “We’ve learned that a person with neutral head-level posture is perceived as more cooperative than someone who has their head in an up-or-down position,” adds Deon. This is why “good posture can improve communication skills and make your everyday exchanges go more smoothly,” she says, adding that posture also plays a significant part in body language.

How to improve posture

In order to get the benefits of good posture, Martin advises being aware of how you sit and stand and practicing good posture regularly enough for it to become second nature.

He also advises maintaining the strength of your back, hamstrings, thighs, abdominals, and quadriceps. “Adding strength and flexibility to trunk and leg muscles helps to maintain the natural curve of the spine and increases vertebral joint stability,” he says.

Weaver also suggests moving around a lot and doing whatever kind of workout you enjoy because movement is crucial for proper posture. “Exercising will improve your posture and thereby reduce the risk of chronic diseases and injury,” he explains.

Mummaneni suggests utilizing a sit/stand desk to promote movement, “so that you do not spend all day slouched in front of your computer monitor.” In order to prevent looking down too much when seated at a desk, he advises raising your monitor to eye level. “And when standing or walking, try looking directly forward as much as possible.”

Deon emphasizes the value of wearing appropriate footwear, pointing out that low-heeled, supportive shoes can be quite helpful. She also advises spending money on chairs with strong armrests and lots of back support.

Regardless of the method you choose, Petty asserts that “good posture can be trained with practice.”