Blog. Repton Medical

Sitting up Straight can actually make you happy as well?

Posture Care

Think about this for a moment, do you have poor posture and positioning whilst sitting, walking and standing. And perhaps also like me, remember as a child in school being constantly told to sit up straight. And today as an adult it’s one of those things you keep in the back of my mind as something, we know we should do, but never get around to, like eating more vegetables and going to the gym.

However surprisingly current research is showing how our posture affects us, in different ways. If you’re like me and actually half the population (a current study stated that half the UK population suffered from bad posture or back pain caused by bad posture) and struggle to sit up straight when you know you should, you might like this post.

So, ok the way we stand, sit and walk, has more longer reaching implications on our mood and happiness than we thought. Our Body language also plays an important part in this as it is also closely link to our posture.

Erik Peper a Dutch behavioural scientist has done extensive research into this area, as well as experiments with his students. He regularly makes participants in his classes stand up and stretch as standard practise throughout the sessions.

Here are his three fascinating things that happened once our posture changes and during Erik Peper’s live experiments:

He noted that when we sit up straight, we are more likely to remember positive memories or think of something positive in general, according to this experiment.
Another insight was that if we skip during breaks, we can significantly increase our energy levels. A slow, slumped walk on the other hand, can do the exact opposite and drain us of our energy.

The study also found that those who were most affected by depression before the study found their energy drained more than others.

So Erik Peper is convinced from his research that we should keep a careful eye on our posture and body language—and can bring us down without us realizing.

So clearly, our posture also has more to do with our minds then we realised. And in fact, it seems like our bodies come first—when we alter our posture and body language, it subconsciously influences our thinking and decision-making.

So, let’s think positive and think how to improve our Posture.

So if we all now want to take advantage of these proven benefits to living a healthier and happier life , here’s what to consider regards our posture and body language .

Here are the most common areas to consider:

Unfortunately, there’s not a whole lot of research into how exactly to adopt good posture—a lot of what we now know tends to come from being told simply to “sit up straight” as a child unfortunately – clearly more useful advice today then learning “algebra” anyway.

Many of us now have jobs that do require us to spend time working at desks or driving, so knowing how to sit with good posture is certainly important and beneficial to one’s health and our welfare. That said don’t forget the human body was built to move, not spending 8 hours at a computer or long hours in a car. Like Erik Peper promotes move about, stand up and stretch regularly or whenever possible.

Here’s are our 5 Tips for a Proper Sitting Posture to help.

Hips to the back of your chair. Move your hips as far back into the chair as they can go. ...
Use a lumbar support and positioning cushion. ...
Thighs and forearms parallel to the floor. ...
Work with your elbows at your sides. ...
Look straight ahead and do not forget to smile.!

As you can see from point 2 on our Tips a Lumbar support and positioning cushion are a great idea to help posture and welfare, and help us manage correct positioning and seating.

Repton Medical have a great range of specialist positioning and posture management products to help.

Visit their website today or give them a call 01909 724890

https://www.reptonmedical.co.uk/positioning-products

Blog posts tagged with 'mental health'