Posture Affects Standing, and Not Just the Physical Kind | Hacker News Reader

Posture Affects Standing, and Not Just the Physical Kind

well.blogs.nytimes.com

43 pointsdpflan18 comments

> Many years ago, researchers showed that women who walked sluggishly with eyes on the ground, as if carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders, were much more likely to be mugged than those who walked briskly and purposely with head erect.

You also look more aware with good posture. This deters attackers because they do best when they catch you off-guard. Walking sluggishly also suggests the target is tired, another good opportunity for the attacker.

tl;dr: Spine straight, shoulders back, chin up. Better for you, more comfortable, and people think more highly of you besides.

It's certainly not more comfortable than slouching or everyone would do it.

Short term no, long term yes. It's uncomfortable now because you're not used to it. As you develop the back muscles necessary for good posture, you'll feel better in the long run as it'll take pressure off your spine.

When I sit up straight my back no longer makes contact with the chair, adding much more stress. Maybe there's something wrong with my back :/

> Maybe there's something wrong with my back :/

Could be the chair too!

A lot of chairs give poor support for proper posture. Aerons are very good about that in my experience; something with the same profile will probably do you well.

Lean the chair back slightly. Adjust the lumbar support (I hope you have one) to support your lower back.

This works for me at me desk and in my vehicle.

Get a lumbar roll. Your upper back shouldn't be in contact with anything.

This is so true. One day a couple years ago I decided I would work through the pain of sitting up straight. I think it only took around 2-3 weeks of sitting like this for it to become comfortable.

It is more comfortable, after you establish the discipline. Getting there takes some practice, which is probably why people slouch.

It's more comfy and it lets you breathe more easily, but you need the muscles for it. It's only a relaxed neutral position if the muscles at the back pull just as much as those at the front.

> chin up

but not too much.. a few things to avoid from the article:

> Bending the head back and sticking out the chin while looking at a computer screen or television. Instead, lower the screen or raise the seat

A good rule in my experience is to have the top edge of the monitor roughly level with your eyeline, so it's easy to see the entire display without needing to tilt your head back at all.

Instead of 'chin up', it helps to think of it as extending the crown of the head up to the ceiling.

Posture is the prime visual signal people at distance give off. Intimidating/confident people are walking as if they are paleolithic warriors staring at the horizon. The key is developing neck muscles with head/shoulder exercises and not bending down for "comfortable viewing/holding" of mobile devices.

I would recommend Foundation Training exercises for anyone with bad posture or back issues. I've been doing Foundation Training for the past couple of weeks and it has definitely helped with my posture. You can watch how to do their main 'Founder' exercise on youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kp84tCkNiFg

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