Without realizing it, most of us are guilty of having poor posture at one point or another. Unfortunately, without correcting it, that poor posture can become a subconscious habit that can lead to things like chronic back pain, neck pain, or other negative impacts to your overall health.
While posture includes how you sit and stand, it’s also part of how you move and hold your body during every kind of activity like running or even sleeping. Wondering how to improve posture in your daily life? It can be easy! We’re taking a look at a few simple adjustments you can make for how to improve your posture and optimize your health.
What Is Posture?
Posture is the positioning of the body when a person is sitting, standing, lying down, or performing different tasks. Researchers have linked bad posture with some uncomfortable health conditions and a high risk of injury, especially during exercise
Posture doesn’t simply refer to your positioning when standing or sitting. While those are the most common forms of posture we think of, posture itself is the positioning of the body when performing any kind of task. Practicing good posture is essential to your overall health, with bad posture having been linked to negative health impacts such as:
- Back and neck pain issues
- Poor balance
- Breathing problems
- Chronic or persistent headaches
- Digestive issues
- Heartburn or acid reflux
Thankfully, learning how to improve posture is something that can be done with relative ease. The most important thing is to recognize where your issues lie and focus on purposefully correcting them over time until good posture becomes a subconscious habit.
Learning How to Improve Posture
Ready to learn how to improve your posture? There are a number of simple ways to improve posture with simple lifestyle adjustments ranging from how active you are to simply standing up straight.
Bad posture habits can creep in anywhere, however, so don’t think that just because you fixed your posture while standing that you aren’t possibly practicing bad posture elsewhere. Take a little time to be cognizant of how you stand, how you perform various tasks, and even subtle activities like how you position your neck as you text or work from a home office setup.
A few simple methods for how to improve posture include:
- Stand up tall
- Don’t slouch when you sit
- Exercise more and be active
- Get regular massages to promote good posture
- Avoid “text neck” when using your phone
- Adjust your seat in the car for better posture
- Practice good sleep posture
Stand Up Nice and Tall
The easiest, most commonly thought about method for how to improve posture is to simply stand up nice and tall whenever you are upright. Not only can this help correct bad posture habits, but it may even positively impact how you feel! Standing up tall with good posture may also help you look a little slimmer as your body repositions itself into the form it should always be in.
Practicing good posture while standing is very simple. Hold your head straight and tuck in your chin with your ears over the middle of your shoulders. Stand with your shoulders back, knees straight, and stomach tucked in. Standing straight should make you feel like your head stretches toward the sky. Practicing good posture like this may require focus for a while, but eventually it will become your natural stance.
Don’t Slouch As You Sit
Whether you work from home in a home office setup, go to the office each day, or find yourself sitting for prolonged periods of time for any reason, an important part of learning how to improve your posture is that you don’t slouch. Slouching is one of the most common bad posture habits that people exhibit and most don’t even realize they’re doing it!
Leaning over at a desk, slouching in a chair, or otherwise hunching your body in any way adds excess pressure to your spine. Over time, this can lead to negative health ailments like chronic back pain, neck pain, additional stress or even long-term conditions like adult kyphosis. Furthermore, poor sitting posture compacts your internal organs, negatively affecting breathing and digestion.
Good sitting posture highlights the importance of an ergonomic workspace setup for your job if you work at a desk. We can practice good sitting posture anywhere we sit, however. Even sitting on the couch or in a living room chair while you relax and unwind is an opportunity to correct slouching behaviors and learn how to improve posture.
Exercises to Improve Posture
There are plenty of exercises that function as effective ways to improve posture in your daily life. Activities that engage your core muscles help improve how you support your body from the stomach, abdomen, back, and glutes.
Simple exercises you should consider as you’re learning how to improve posture include:
- Bridges
- Back extensions
- Planks
- Standing quad stretches
- Hip flexor stretches
A well-designed exercise plan can be an immensely effective method for how to improve your posture during your daily routine. You’ll maintain a healthy spine and keep your core strong.
Using Massage to Improve Posture
Another method for how to improve posture is getting a massage. Studies have linked getting regular massage with how to improve posture as it helps your muscles relax and recover from damage. In today’s world, our busy schedules may preclude regular massage appointments from fitting into our schedules, however, resulting in many people turning to the benefits of massage therapy at home using massage chairs.
Today’s luxury massage chairs have evolved to provide a wide variety of different massage techniques and capabilities that have effectively eliminated any difference between using a massage chair vs human massage. There are even AI massage chairs that are capable of using two types of body scanning technology to provide a uniquely-tailored massage experience based on your bodily needs each time you use it.
Other massage chair features like the benefits of heat therapy and chromotherapy options further enhance the benefits of owning a massage chair to elevate your experience beyond what you can get at a traditional appointment.
Massage works to keep your muscles loose and may help your body recover from the damage poor posture can leave behind. Additionally, using a full body massage chair could help lower stress levels naturally–another factor that subconsciously affects our posture.
Avoid Bad “Text Neck” Posture
Want to know a simple method for how to improve posture that you may not have considered? Avoid “text neck” posture when using your phone! We all find ourselves on our phones more than ever these days. Unfortunately, one of the first things we tend to do when using our phones is lean our neck over or hunch down as we text or read. Stretch your neck out and try to maintain good posture while using your phone and see how much of a positive difference it makes.
Adjust Your Car Seat for Good Posture
As we mentioned, good posture while sitting can mean anywhere. One place you may not have considered right away while learning how to improve posture is how much time you spend sitting in your car. Whether it’s on your daily commute, on a casual road trip, or even a simple trip to the grocery, adjust your seat to practice good posture. Sitting low and far back from the steering wheel can add excess pressure to your spine as you hunch over or strain to see over the dashboard.
Practice Good Sleep Posture
Last, though certainly not least, an easy way to improve posture is to make sure you’re practicing good sleep posture. Oh yes, even posture while sleeping can have a major effect on your overall health! In fact, studies have shown too many of us practice inadequate posture when it comes to sitting and sleeping. So how should you sleep to improve your posture?
- Make sure you have proper back support
- Use the right head pillow
- Loosen your muscles before going to bed with massage or stretches
- Consider sleeping upright with good posture support
When it comes to learning how to improve your posture while sleeping, the most important aspect is to have body alignment and proper support in bed.
As you can see, there are a plethora of ways to improve posture with simple lifestyle adjustments. The most important part of learning how to improve posture starts by identifying where the issues are. Pay special attention to how you stand, the way you move, and even the position you’re in as you relax to see opportunities to practice good posture and replace bad habits. You can even add in other activities like choosing a massage chair to boost your overall well-being while repairing any damage poor posture may have left behind.
Want to learn more about the benefits of owning a massage chair? Check out these resources:
