Plain and simple, the human body was not built to sit for long periods of time. Those 8+ hours you’re spending in your chair at work or school are wreaking havoc on body’s cardiovascular health, cholesterol levels, cancer risk, and reducing your overall health and lifespan. Check out our 5 tips to more effectively combat the repercussions of sitting all day—your body will thank you!
The way we see it, most of us are sitting down for a huge portion of our day. For many of us, our days revolve around our desk and computer. We tend to not realize it, but the actual way we sit can have a huge impact on our bodies, and get this… sitting behind our desk at work is actually exercise! It may not fall under our idea of a classic workout (it’s no jog in the park), but if we know the proper way to sit, we can utilize our time behind our desks for more than just work.
Think about it, when we’re using the mouse or typing on our computer, we’re using our arm muscles. Sitting alone uses most of our back muscles, even more so if we are sitting incorrectly. If we aren’t sitting properly, muscles can be overworked leading to problems outside the office. The more aware we are of our daily habits, the better impact we can have on our body. Although it may not be a full body transformation, picking up these 5 habits can totally help your body out in the long run!
TILT YOUR PELVIS FORWARD & ARCH YOUR LOWER BACK
You can have the world’s greatest chair but that will not save you from ruining your body with a bad sitting position. An arch in the lower back and a forward tilt in the pelvis pair together for prime positioning. Avoid sitting too far forward in your chair, making sure your body is fully supported by the chair.
SIT UP TALL
We hear this one often but sometimes we fail to remember. Sitting tall is super important when it comes to helping our back! It’s easy to remember when you first sit down, but it’s usually only a matter of time before your spine begins to droop (we’re guilty of this sometimes too). It takes strong back and abdomen muscles to hold a straight back day in and day out so make sure you’re working your core to make your life a bit easier.
FEET FLAT ON THE FLOOR
Although it may feel totally natural to cross your legs under your desk, fight the urge! Crossing your legs puts your body off balance and puts unequal weight on your pelvis. With feet flat on the floor, it makes it easier to follow the rules above too!
LEVEL HEAD
The height of your chair should allow your gaze to be level with the top third of your monitor. The eyes should look straight ahead and not tilt up or down. Work at keeping your chin parallel to the floor. This will help you avoid unnecessary strains in your neck, which means no more awkward kinks or headaches!
GET UP, STAND UP
All these rules are ten times easier to follow if you’re sitting in shorter time frames. If you know you’re going to be sitting at a desk all day, make sure you set aside some time to get up and give your booty a break. Even if its just a few simple stretches every hour, it will totally help out your body in the long run and makign sitting at your desk all day a little less painful. Even you need to, set pop up reminders on your computer or phone to remind you to get up and get moving once every hour or so.
Chances are we are all going to have to spend time behind a desk at some point in our lives. Now go out, take these tips, and make the most of your time at work!
Sources: Mind Body Green
