7 Simple Tricks To Fix Your Posture
Bad posture is a problem that a lot of people deal with, especially if they’re working at a desk all day long. Most of the time, people just ignore it and accept that having a bad back is just part of getting older. But it doesn’t have to be and bad posture can actually cause you a lot of problems beyond a bad back. It can affect your digestive system and even make it harder to breathe because your internal organs are being squashed together. Good posture can improve your health and your mental state as well so you need to do something about it if you’ve got bad posture. Here are a few tips and tricks you can use every day to help improve your posture.
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Back Against The Wall
First off, you need to get to know what good posture feels like so you can correct yourself throughout the day. A lot of people don’t really know how they should be standing and their body naturally falls into bad posture. The easiest way to get a feel for the right posture is to stand with your back flat against the wall. Hold your head up straight and tuck your chin in. Your ears should be over your shoulders and your stomach should be pulled in. Push your head toward the sky to straighten your back out. To start with, this is going to feel a little awkward and you’ll probably be able to feel the muscles in your back and core tightening a little, it might even ache a bit after a while but that’s fine. That just tells you that you’re standing correctly and if you make a conscious effort to hold yourself this way, eventually your body will get used to it and your posture will come naturally.
Check Yourself
When you’ve been walking around with bad posture for years, your body will change shape and your spine will automatically fall that way. That means that even when you’re trying to make a conscious effort to stand correctly, you’ll still slip into bad habits again. You need to constantly check yourself throughout the day and correct your posture when you feel it slipping. This is especially important if you’re working at a desk all day because it’s easy to hunch over and lean forward.
Wear The Right Shoes
People often underestimate the importance of good shoes when it comes to posture but they make a massive difference. If you’re wearing shoes that don’t offer good support, your posture is going to suffer. Make sure that you get a pair with thick soles, especially if you’re going to be on your feet all day. Good shoes will distribute weight properly and take some of the pressure off your back, which makes it easier to maintain a good posture. A good pair of slippers are important too but most people forget that. What’s the point in wearing good shoes to correct posture if you’re going to undo all of that work when you get home and take the shoes off? You need to get a good quality pair (you can get some great slippers from glerups.com) rather than a cheap flimsy pair. If you don’t get a pair of slippers with some decent soles on them, you might as well not wear any at all.
Get A Decent Chair
The people that spend all day sitting at a desk have the most problems with posture and often, it’s because of their chair. If you’ve got a cheap desk chair that doesn’t have proper back support, you’re putting way too much strain on your back. It might seem a little excessive to spend a lot of money on a chair but it’ll help you to improve your posture and get rid of annoying back pain. You can also get therapy devices that attach to your chair and help you to manage any lower back pain.
Be Careful With Your Phone
Your back is a problem area but your neck is equally as important. The most common reason that people have trouble with their neck is that they spend too much time on their phones, it’s commonly known as text neck. Usually, when you’re using your phone, you’ll be looking downwards and stretching your neck out of place. When you’re using your phone loads of times every day that can lead to some serious neck problems. First off, you should try holding the phone straight up in front of your face so you don’t need to bend your neck forward every time you’re using your phone. You should also try to avoid using it when it’s not really necessary, it’ll stop you from wasting time during the day anyway. You should also stretch your neck out regularly during the day to offset the negative effects of using your phone all of the time.
Adjust Your Car Seat
It might be comfortable to put the seat back and recline when you’re on a long drive, but it’s not the best thing for your posture. Pull the seat closer to the steering wheel so your back is straight when you’re driving. Try to keep your knees slightly bent and don’t lock your legs. Your knees should be in line with your hips. If you’re on a particularly long drive and your car seat isn’t that supportive, you can put a small pillow or a rolled up towel at the base of your back for extra support.
Get A Decent Mattress
This is one of the most important things if you want to have good posture. A bad mattress that doesn’t offer any support, you’re going to wake up with a bad back every morning and you’ll struggle to hold good posture. You should change your mattress every 8 years and make sure that you invest a bit of money in a good one. Check out sleepopolis.com for a guide on choosing the best one.
If you make these small changes in your daily life, you’ll have better posture and all of the benefits that go along with it in no time.
