You've heard that sitting too much just might kill you, mainly because the lack of movement translates into an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic conditions. To add insult to injury, it turns out that spending your day hunched over a computer also has major ramifications for your mental well-being. The issue: Poor posture can put you in a lousy mood and make you feel more stressed and depressed.
"We're a very forward-leaning society—we drive forward, lean forward, slouch over our desks all day," says William Smith, an exercise physiologist in Morristown, New Jersey and co-author of Exercises for Perfect Posture. You probably spend a lot of time craning your neck over your smartphone, too.
Here are three ways improving your posture will improve your emotional health, and exactly how to do it so you begin scoring the benefits
This isn't just a theory; research has actually verified the connection between poor posture and fatigue, especially in people who have depression. One study, published last year in the Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, found that patients with mild to moderate depression felt more alert after simply keeping their back and shoulders upright while sitting. They also reported less anxiety.
Another study, published in the journal Biofeedback, came to a similar conclusion: Participants who slouched while walking felt more depressed. When they shifted to a more upright position, their outlook and energy levels increased.
Maintaining good posture won't only make you look more confident; research shows that you'll actually feel better about yourself. A study in Health Psychology found that people who feel stressed can kick their negative mood and even boost their self-esteem by sitting upright. Other research found that good posture was associated with better body image among people with depression.
You'll be less guarded:
When you're slumped forward, you're literally guarding yourself. That may very well mean that you don't feel open to new relationships or ideas, or perhaps that you're actively trying to hide something. "So much of how we communicate is non-verbal, and I've noticed that if someone has a slouched posture or altered gait, it often indicates that there's something they're not willing to talk about or tell you," says Smith. "There's a lot to be said for just standing up, pulling your shoulders back, and saying 'I'm going to face the day.
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