Is slouching that bad for you? – part 4
In previous blog posts I have explored the following reasons for not slouching
So finally I would like to focus on how slouching affects your breathing.
You’ll notice that people don’t sigh when they sit slumped — they have to sit up to take a deep breath,’ observes Professor Stephen Spiro of the British Lung Foundation.
‘That’s because the lungs work best when we’re vertical. If you’re slumped forward you don’t fully breathe and ventilate the lungs, because they’re compressed and the diaphragm is coming up into the chest — so you won’t breathe as easily and efficiently.’
This can cause particular breathing problems for anyone with asthma or lung disease.
‘If you’re an asthmatic you probably don’t have bad posture because people are quite clever at correcting themselves,’ says Professor Spiro.
Physiotherapist Sammy Margo adds that slumping can mean less oxygen gets to the brain.
‘Slumped or C-shaped people complain of being tired and fatigued all the time and it’s because the lungs are squashed and cannot get enough air in, and the brain needs plenty of oxygen to function at its best.’
In addition, if you slumped you are breath with be short and shallow from your upper chest. In order to relax and digest food your body needs the parasympathetic nervous system to be dominant. A quick way to do this is to sit up right and take deep breaths and this simulates the parasympathetic system. So slumping may be contributing to you feeling anxious and finding it hard to relax and switch off when you leave work!
Related Posts
How to combat sitting all day
Sitting all day is a current health concern. While I know that sitting all day has been described as "the new smoking" until now this made me uncomfortable - as its not the same. You can get help to quit smoking. If you work in an office you are expected to sit and standing desks are rare, so you have no choice but to sit down. While I am aware that smoking is an addiction, I think it is still more within the individual's control than sitting if you work in an office. I am an optimistic person by nature, so I don't want to be the voice of doom for my readers about sitting. So I was very interested in some recent research which demonstrates how to limit the impact of sitting. Spending much of the day sitting around increases the risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer and ultimately, death - with 50,000 people anually in the UK dying as a result, say researches from Queen's University in Belfast. Around 30% of adults spend at least six hours a day during the week sitting and this rises to 37% at weekends. Roughly one-thrid of people who are sedentary will have at least two major health conditions, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Researchers from the American Cancer Society estimate that just 30 minutes of some physical activity would halve the death rates from chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer. So 30 minutes of physical activity per day (like walking) is what researchers currently think is required to combat sitting all day. References Journal Epidemiol Community Health. 2019 Jul;73(7):625-629. doi:10.1136/jech-2018-211758 Americal Journal of Preventive Medicine, Mortality Risk Reductions for Replacing Sedentary Time with Physical Activities, Rees-Punia, Erika et al. Volume 56, Issue 5, 736-741
Do you have tight hips? – Part 2
I know many of my clients sit at a desk for very long hours which can lead to tight hips. So in this post I want to show you how to stretch them.
How to stretch your hips
Single knee hugging Lying on your back, grab your right knee and pull it toward your chest until you feel a stretch. Hold for 20 seconds. Repeat on the left side. Bilateral knee hugging Lying on your back, grab both knees and pull them toward your chest. Hold for 20 seconds. "Cobra pose" Lie face down on the floor, hands parallel to your shoulders. Straighten your arms, lifting your upper torso off the floor. Your lower back should be arched, with your pelvis making contact with the floor. Hold for 20 seconds, then lower yourself back down Hip flexion with abduction/adduction Lying on your back, bring one knee up toward your chest. Holding your knee with both hands, roll your knee from one side to the other for 20 seconds. Repeat on the other side. External hip rotation Lying on your back, pull your right knee toward your chest. Place your right hand on the knee and your left hand on the ankle. Gently pull your right ankle in the direction of your head. Hold for 30 seconds, then repeat on your left leg. Internal hip rotation Lying face down, bend your knees 90 degrees and let your feet fall outward. Hold for 30 seconds. If after trying these stretches you are still strugling with tight hips why not book a deep tissue massage.Do you go home being mentally exhausted but physically full of beans?
I know when I worked in IT I would often leave the office mentally very tired and depending upon how trying the day had been somtimes I was just mentally exhausted but often I was not physically tired. The simplest solution to this conundrum is to go down the gym and burn of the excess physical energy and going to the gym also helps to switch off from work. However there are times when we are injured or feeling run down when this is not possible, so then what can you do? Recently I have seen a few people in clinic who are in this situation. This means they are stuggling to switch off from work and relax. So I wanted to share a few tips on how to handle this if it happens to you. Depending upon the injury you can:
- Start taking the stairs at work - even if you can't walk up all the flights of stairs for example if you are based on the top floor, you can walk up some flights and take the lift for the rest.
- Go swimming instead of going to the gym.
- Get of the train or tube one stop earlier and walk the rest of the way (this obviously depends upon your commute).
- Go for a walk in park or any type of greenery.
- A lot of museams in London have a late night opening, so why not go walk around a museam.
- If you have a garden, do some gardening.
