Crossing your legs, tucking your feet under your chair and sitting in one position for longer than 30 minutes are among the bad posture habits that could be affecting your health. What’s more, The World Health Organization has identified physical inactivity as the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality.
Thankfully we teamed up with HSL, the leading chair specialist, and together worked with Occupational Therapist Julie Jennings to compile a guide on how and why it’s important that we start paying attention to our posture at work.
Poor posture can be caused by weak muscles, lack of exercise, uncomfortable and unsupportive seating. Not only does poor posture cause discomfort, it can also cause serious health complications.
Julie Jennings, independent Occupational Therapist at HSL Chairs, recommends these six simple tips to improve your posture that you can easily implement into your daily routine:
1. Do – Sit up with your back straight and your shoulders back. Many of us develop what is often referred to as a ‘comfort posture’, a term which refers to the most comfortable position we adopt in a particular seat. However, if the seating does not provide adequate postural support then it can be detrimental to our overall health and fitness, leading to aches and pains and, at worst, damaged joints.
2. Don’t – Sit in the same position for more than 30 minutes. Balancing periods of sitting with regular exercise is essential to promoting physical and mental health and well-being. It is essential to have the right chair, so that when you sit down you have good postural support allowing you to move better when you get up.
3. Do – Keep a small gap between the back of your seat and your knees. Keeping a small gap between the back of the seat and your knees helps circulation and avoids pressure on essential nerves and capillaries. Having a well-adjusted seat will help reduce loss of balance when you stand.
4. Don’t – Cross your legs. Your knees should be at a right angle and either on level with, or slightly higher than, your hips. Crossing your legs puts you at risk of increased blood pressure, varicose veins and many other health issues.
5. Do – Keep your head upright. Keeping your head upright avoids pressure on the top of the spine and promotes good overall posture.
6. Don’t – Tuck your feet under your chair. Tucking your feet under a chair can become a bad habit when you’re sat down for a long and it should be avoided. Tucking your feet under a chair can throw off your spine and hip alignment as well as cut off circulation to the rest of your body.
“Our posture doesn’t tend to be something we think about on a daily basis, but having good posture is imperative to our health. Bad posture can lead to a number of health problems from poor circulation to lack of mobility in the joints.” Says Venessa Hodgson, Head of Marketing at HSL Chairs.
“Balancing periods of sitting with regular exercise is essential for promoting physical and mental health and well-being. We recommend implementing these six simple tips to your daily routine and considering your seating arrangements wisely. Having the correct chair can ensure that when you sit, you have the correct postural support to assist your body and support overall health.”
