Mom’s are always right, right?
Remember all those years that mom would pass by us and yell at us to “sit up straight!” Or all the times she creeped up behind us and pressed her hands on our backs, correcting our posture?
Well, she was right about that too.
And this time, science has her back.
Turns out slouching not only has an incredibly dangerous effect on our health, but on our confidence, self-esteem, focus and mood as well. So this Thanksgiving, we’re thanking our mom’s for spotting this one much before science did; and we’re paying our respect by rounding up the top 3 things that both mom and science are trying to teach us about slouching…
1. Slouching breaks your back and ruins your health
Dr. Michael Gleiber, a Florida-based orthopedic spine surgeon explains that slouching puts strain on the discs, ligaments, and muscled in the neck and spine, and impairs the circulation of vital nutrients. This can eventually lead to degenerative disc disease, chronic neck, shoulder, and back pain, and chronic fatigue. Most of us have sedentary jobs. Dr. Gleiber explains, “We contort our bodies so we start to slouch, lean forward, and flex our necks… After a while, our bad posture becomes ingrained in our brain and becomes part of our muscle memory.”
2. Slouching not only makes us look powerless and weak, but makes us act more submissive as well.
A study done by the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology (Carney, Cuddy, & Yap) proved that there is a hormonal relationship between our posture and our internal instincts and emotions. Participants that adopted an upright posture experienced an increase in their testosterone level, and a decrease in their cortisol level (cortisol is the principle stress hormone in the human body). In contrast, those adopting a slouched posture experienced a decrease in their testosterone level and an increase in cortisol level. Another study by Ohio State University confirmed these findings and proved that being upright increased ones confidence in their thoughts, while slouchers felt more insecure.
3. Being slouched lowers your self-esteem and your mood
A study done by the journal Health Psychology aimed to investigate whether an upright seated posture could influence our responses to psychological stress tasks, relative to a slouched seated posture. They found that adopting an upright posture in the face of stress can maintain self-esteem, reduce negative emotion, and increase positive mood, compared to a slouched posture. Professor Erik Peper of San Francisco State University was also fascinated by this similarly to the Health Psychology study, found that upright participants felt more energetic, happier, and positive, whereas slouched participant felt sad, lonely, and isolated.
So, as science would suggest, turns out mom really does always have our backs.
Thank you mom.
Though nothing can replace the most important woman in our lives, the UPRIGHT trainer wearable can watch your back when mom’s not around to do it herself. UPRIGHT is your personal posture trainer, and will train you in short training sessions to sit and stand upright.
#beupright and spread the word.
