Standing tall. Chin up. Power stance. So many of our expressions refer to the way we carry ourselves and our body weight, and that’s for good reason! Our posture and the overall balance of our bodies speaks volumes about our physical health and the lifestyle we lead – like how active we are or if we work hunched over at a desk every day.
But posture also affects our mental health, our moods, and our emotions. Today, let’s discuss how posture influences your body, your mind, and your complete wellness every day!
Does Posture Affect Our Mood and Mental Health?
Compare your posture when you are proud of something – straight hips and spine, shoulders back, maybe your hands on your hips – to when you are ashamed or afraid. There is a world of difference between how those two emotions “look”. But can it go the other way? Can the way you stand and sit affect the way you feel?
Research from multiple trials says yes, it absolutely can. A 2014 study of 74 participants compared upright vs. slumped posture and its effects on mood, self-esteem, emotions, and even the amounts of positive or negative words used. The results showed that standing upright with good, strong posture has benefits across the board, influencing empathetic language, better self-perception, and more balanced emotional states. And that’s just one study – there are many more like this:
Through various experiments, Dr. Erik Peper at San Francisco State University determined how body posture affected subjective energy level as well as a person’s ability to generate positive and negative thoughts. In one experiment, his test subjects either skipped, swinging their arms in an upward motion, or slouched as they walked down a hall. Almost all of the skipping participants reported feeling more energetic, happier, and positive. Those who had slouched reported nearly the opposite emotions. They felt sad, lonely, isolated, sleeping, and “zombie-like.”
In short, if you sit hunched at a desk or in front of a phone all day, your mind takes notice as much as your body. Your personality gets small and hunched and atrophied to match your muscles. So, get in the habit of improving your posture – at your desk, in the kitchen, while watching TV – and you will improve your mood and self-confidence, too.
The Connection Between Posture and Stress Relief
Did you know that improving your posture can also help reduce stress? When you're hunched over, your body is in a defensive, closed-off position, which can actually trigger a stress response in the brain. On the other hand, standing or sitting upright in a more open posture can promote a sense of relaxation and confidence, helping your body manage stress more effectively. Over time, this small change can contribute to lower stress levels and a better overall sense of well-being.
How Posture Affects Breathing
For how important they are, your lungs are actually in quite a small space – constricted by your ribs, muscles, and internal organs. Imagine how much room they have to expand when you are standing tall and straight, with your diaphragm moving up and down. Now imagine when you are leaned over, compressing your abdomen tightly together.
Which one gets more room to breathe? It’s not hard to see why!
For many people in the modern world, working consists of sitting for long periods of time – which means shoulders and neck tilted forward, core muscles weakening, and upper chest and back muscles tightening up. Put that all together and you have a recipe for poor breathing: one study found that we can lose nearly 1/3 of our total lung capacity, just by slumping in a chair!
From childhood, many of us are learning how to breathe incorrectly by not using the diaphragm to its full potential. Learning how to properly activate our diaphragms – which can only be done when the trunk of the body is straight and extended fully – is the key to deep, rejuvenating breaths that deliver optimal oxygen to the bloodstream.
Posture, Muscles, and Joint Movement
Have you ever heard of a condition called “Forward Head Posture”, aka “text neck”? Just like the name says, it’s an increasingly common affliction in which your neck is pushed forward, your shoulders are rounded, and your skull tilts down.
In an era of smartphones, digital devices, and computer screens, it’s becoming more widespread, but it’s a real threat: a 2014 study found that “[t]he effective weight of your head on your spine increases from 10 to 12 pounds in the neutral position to 49 pounds when your head is hunched forward at a 45-degree angle.” Imagine if your head suddenly weighed 4-5x as much…that’s what FHP can do to your neck!
And that’s just on one area of your upper body. Slouching and poor posture has been linked to a number of other joint and mobility issues, such as:
Pinched nerves in the spinal column
Spinal misalignment, leading to headaches, neck/back pain, hip pain, and numbness/tingling
Poor balance and/or flexibility
Added strain on muscles, ligaments, and other tissues, increasing the overall risk of injury
Greater risk of herniation
Think of it this way: your spine is the solid foundation of your body, balancing both the physical structure and the nervous system that carries signals around. When it is out of alignment, so is everything else!
Fixing Bad Posture in Calgary, Alberta
Here’s the good news, even if you are a lifelong sloucher: you can make the choice today to start undoing the damage and improve your mobility and health. It takes daily stretching, adjusting to new habits, and a commitment to overcoming years of tight muscles and movement – and you may need a guide who can keep you on the path to total alignment of body and mind.
At Cameron Family Chiropractic, we love nothing more than seeing your physical and mental health improve. You’ve got so much to gain from a chiro appointment – so reach out today and take the first step into a better quality of life!
