Feeling Down? Fix Your Posture.
A Study By Harvard University Found That Sitting With Good Posture Improved Certain Symptoms Of Anxiety, Stress, And Depression [1]
Research over the years has demonstrated a clear link between posture and mental health. This connection is particularly relevant for employers, given the dramatic increase in the number of mental injury claims and people seeking help for mental health issues during the pandemic.
People working from home are more vulnerable to the impact of prolonged, unhealthy posture. Our experience tells us that, two years into the pandemic, most people working remotely still don’t have access to appropriate workstation equipment that would be routinely provided in the office, such as ergonomic chairs, full-sized monitors or height adjustable desks.
Providing home workspaces that facilitate healthy posture and movement is a simple intervention that improves people’s lives and protects businesses against the costs of workplace injury. While COVID/FLU has dominated the news, a silent epidemic of mental and physical injury claims awaits employers who are ‘asleep at the wheel’ when it comes to the health, safety and wellbeing of their people.
What The Research Tells Us About Good Posture?
We all know that when we feel down and defeated, we’re more likely to sit slumped but did you know this works in reverse and that our posture can directly influence our thoughts and emotions?
It’s Linked To Positive Thinking
One study conducted by the San Francisco State University examined how students recalled and thought about past experiences, good and bad. The students were told to recall both negative and positive experiences, once while sitting with good posture and again while slouching. The results showed that 86% of the students who were in a slouched position found it easier to recall negative emotions or experiences. On the contrary, 87% of the students found it much easier to recall positive experiences when sitting up straight. [2]
It Boosts Confidence And Persistence
Another study shows that body posture also affects persistence when dealing with difficult tasks. In one study, participants who sat in an upright body posture demonstrated significantly higher perseverance when tasked to figure out an unsolvable puzzle. Meanwhile, those who sat in a slumped position were recorded to have spent less trials trying to solve the puzzles. [3]
It Reduces Symptoms Of Anxiety And Depression
One study examined 61 people with mild to moderate depression. The group as a whole was more likely to sit with stooped shoulders and a rounded back compared with people who did not have depression. Half the subjects were allowed to sit in their usual slouched position, while the other half sat upright with physiotherapy tape placed on their shoulders and back to help them maintain good posture. Both groups underwent tests designed to raise stress levels and then filled out questionnaires to measure their mood symptoms. The researchers found that those who sat in the upright posture had lower levels of fatigue and anxiety.
Other Benefits Of Good Posture & Regular Movement
Increased energy
Reduced fatigue
Less musculoskeletal discomfort
Better respiratory function
Better gastrointestinal function
Better concentration and mood
Increased confidence and resilience
Promotes positive emotions/thoughts instead of bad ones
Better productivity and persistence
Sitting Slumped Is A Position Of Defeat And Negativity.
Good posture, on the other hand, can actively help positive feelings and memories emerge instead of unmotivated, hopeless feelings.
Extrapolate these ideas to your team members working from home. Without good ergonomics and healthy work habits, they may well be unknowingly putting their health, productivity and performance at risk. Imagine the consequence of this across your entire organisation?
By supporting good posture via ergonomic programs, organisations have the potential to make a huge impact on their team’s mental and physical health.
While the physical health benefits of good posture are widely accepted and recognized, employers should also consider how good posture can positively change the way we think and feel and the implications this has for their organisation’s culture and performance.
References
