If you are an office worker or someone who works from home, you will likely be sitting in front of a computer continuously for several hours almost every day. The way you sit will greatly affect your physical health in the future. Poor sitting postures can in fact accelerate the deterioration of muscles and joints, making you weak and feeble even before you hit old age.
Sometimes, the wrong sitting posture can be a habit formed due to the type of seat you sit on regularly. If you use a low seat, your body will naturally sink into it. This will tuck your pelvis backward, making the head tilt forward and also curve the spine. But if you use a high seat, your legs might dangle above the floor. This can throw your balance off and cause some serious physical pain in the future.
Sitting postures to avoid
Leaning forward
This is one of the most common incorrect postures that people use while sitting, especially when they are sitting in front of their computer and staring at the screens. When you sit in this posture, your body will end up being afflicted with various problems like neck pain, shoulder pain, knee pain, and so on.
Most people lean forward so that they can see things on the monitor more clearly. But rather than doing this, it is much better for you to sit straight and bring the monitor close to your face.
Half-lying
This is basically the opposite pose of “leaning forward.” A person in this pose will slump their back on the chair, basically having the body at a 45-degree angle to the chair’s surface.
This is usually the pose many people use when watching movies on a sofa or lazily doing their job from home. The drawback of the pose is that it passes on the muscle load to our bones and even nerves, which in the long-term is not at all a good thing.
Cross-legged
If you sit cross-legged for too long on a regular basis, the ligament stretching between the legs and the lower back can get affected, which will eventually damage the nerves as well.
The longer you sit in the posture, the more pressure is applied on the legs due to which blood flow in the region will be inhibited. As a result, some areas might see the emergence of varicose veins. If you already have varicose veins, the situation will probably worsen.
The right posture
A good posture essentially ensures that critical parts of your body are aligned correctly so that long-term damage is minimized. There is no single absolute right posture while sitting. It will depend on various factors like a person’s height, the type of chair, and so on.
To ensure that you adhere as close as possible to a good sitting posture, always have your feet on the ground or on a footrest.
There should be a gap between the back of your knees and the chair. Keep the shoulders relaxed. Have the knees and forearms parallel to the floor whenever possible. The knees should be positioned at the same height or a bit lower than the hips.
If you are in front of a PC, make sure that the monitor is at least eye level. Finally, do not sit continuously for long hours. It is best to take a 10-minute break for every hour you sit.
