How Bad Posture Affects Your Health

Who have ever thought that when you are hunched over and have a bad posture can cause so much damage? But, the way your posture is a very important thing. Pay attention to your posture and improve your health almost instantly.

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It increases depression

In a recent research made by the University of San Francisco it was discovered that people who walk hunched over and have bad posture have an increased sense of depression and a lower level of energy. A yoga teacher and expert says about good posture: “Even our tongue shows the connection between good posture and emotional influence, so we often see weak people as spineless“.

What can you do: Imagine that there is a light right in the middle of your chest. Whether you are sitting or walking, your light must be pointed straight forward. Keep your head directed forward, but without lifting your chin, says prevention.com.

It slows down digestion

When you are hunched over, sitting, your internal organs, including the bowels, are compressed. And exactly that can slow down everything, including your digestion.

What can you do: Yoga and pilates are basic exercises that “get things moving“. One of the numerous positions that can activate slow bowels is the cobra. Lay down on your stomach and lay your head on your forearms. After that put the hands at chest level and slowly rise up, until you are completely stretching your back.

An increased risk of death and disease

A recent Australian research revealed that after the 25th year of life every hour of being hunched on the couch in front of the TV decreases the life expectancy for about 21.8 minutes. Also, an English study revealed that longer sitting doubles the risk of getting diabetes, and the danger of heart diseases is increased by 147%.

What can you do: Try not to sit over hunched over in front of the TV, get up without the help of handrails and lower yourself when you are going to sit by controlled movements. In that way you will strengthen your lower body muscles and decrease the risk of disease.

You look fatter

Today’s lifestyle is mostly consisted of sitting, but the fact is that when we sit we look fatter. Namely, when we are sitting our internal organs just don’t have nowhere to go so we automatically look fatter.

What can you do: The solution is simple – get up and get moving. When we stand, unlike sitting, we spend 20 percent more calories and we strengthen our muscles, we increase our metabolism and increase bone elasticity.

Reduces circulation

Our bodies are sort of machines that are powered by liquids and gases. Long sitting, especially with your legs crossed, stops circulation, increases pressure, and can even cause vein rupturing.

What can you do: To maintain proper circulation in your lower body, experts recommend that you stand up, get a proper posture and after that lift your leg up in the air. Hold that position for a while – it is enough to breathe strongly 5 times and exhale breathing from your diaphragm – and then repeat that with your other leg.

Increasing stress

A recent study from Harvard reveals that people that stand up have a 20% increase in testosterone levels and a 25% decrease in cortisol levels while people that are hunched over had a 10% drop in their testosterone and 15% increase in their cortisol levels. Shortly, persons who are hunched are exposed not only to low self respect but also high stress levels. Hunched sitting is also a pretty serious problem. Namely, shallow breathing puts stress on the lungs, and the heart will beat faster to ensure enough oxygen. The result is a vicious circle, because stress increases shallow breathing, which creates more stress.

What can you do: Experts advise that we remind ourselves to breathe from the abdomen to reduce stress levels.To make sure that you are breathing properly, put your hand on your stomach and then you should feel you stomach expanding as you breathe in.

We hope that after reading this text you understand well how much it is important to be active and in that way improve your health and life. There are so many activities that you can choose, from an “old” one like football, running, basketball, swimming, cycling, to the “new” one like wide selection of kite surfing activities, base jumping, racquetball, etc.

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By Milan Budimkic

Milan Budimkic is a creative freelance writer for industries that include but are not limited to the travel, sport, health, entertainment, internet marketing, and much more. When not blogging, Milan likes to travel and read a lot.