Slouching is for Slouches
According to Merriam-Webster, a slouch is defined as “one that is unimpressive; especially: a lazy or incompetent person.” A slouch is also defined as “a gait or posture characterized by an ungainly stooping of the head and shoulders or excessive relaxation of body muscles.” Neither is complementary, yet, when you walk into a café, it’s hard to ignore.
When you make a concerted effort not to slouch, there are some real benefits.
The List...
- You get a boost in self-confidence. A Harvard study showed that when people practice “high power poses” for only one minute, they experience a cascade of hormonal and behavioral changes. This includes an increase in testosterone which helps with brute confidence and a decrease in the stress hormone cortisol. Even if you don’t feel confident, simply practicing standing up straight will help you feel stronger. In this instance, faking it until you make it really works.
- You’ll look thinner. When you slouch, your abs bulge out making it look like you have a belly even if you’re super skinny. Stand up, pull your shoulders back, and your stomach will look smaller or even go away. That’s so much easier than doing a ton of crunches!
- Strengthen your back. It seems like everyone has some sort of back pain and all the time we spend in front of a screen makes it even worse. When we sit in front of a computer or look at our phones, we tend to hold our head forward – like a turtle. Did you know that for every inch that you hold your head that way, you add ten pounds of pressure on your spine? Over time, that weight creates deformities that can be very painful. Worse, the muscles can start to spasm, causing headaches too. I like to use a shoulder strap to push me into correct posture when in front of the computer for a long period of time. I really like to use it when performing long surgeries as well. It almost makes me feel superhuman.
- Optimize breathing. When you slouch, you can decrease the amount of oxygen going into your lungs by up to 30 percent! When you sit or stand up straight, you can get more air in your lungs to help get freshly oxygenated blood flow to your precious organs. in oxygenation. It goes without saying that getting some good air in will help you feel relaxed, so you can focus, and spend your energy on things that really matter. It simply makes your body more efficient.
- Push away the blues. There is new research that shows that people who keep a strong, upright posture when they are stressed hold onto a more positive attitude and mood. Also, when slouching, we become more vulnerable to that jerk in our heads who spits out negative self-talk. Importance of posture for body image
Stand up straight, smile, and go conquer the world!