Sitting may not be healthy, but the way you do it has a big influence on your health.
Most of us sit down for most of the things we do, so we need to do it right. If you sit a maturity of the time, try to think about how you sit more often. It’ll prevent you from getting backaches or even having your spine grow wrong.
And here are the most common mistakes people make when they sit that might lead to pain and discomfort.
Using a laptop for long periods of time.
That it’s hard to have good posture while working exclusively on a laptop, especially if you’re on a couch or lounge chair.
Instead of working exclusively on your laptop, you should pair it with a laptop riser or external monitor to prevent your neck and back from being hunched. An external keyboard and mouse are also essential because they help keep your shoulders in a healthier position and wrists unbent and straight.
You’re sitting too far forward.
Instead, scoot back to have your back supported by the backrest of the chair. But make sure you don’t sit on a seat that’s too long because you still want to ensure there’s a 2-inch gap between the back of your knee and the seat to avoid pressure and discomfort.
The monitor position is incorrect.
If it's too far away, you might lean forward to look at the screen. Our monitors should be about an arm's length away.
The height of the monitor is also important. If it is too high, it may strain the neck muscles and increase the pressure on the cervical spine, while a monitor that is too low may strain the muscles and ligaments in the neck, shoulders and upper back. Ideally, the top of the monitor should be at eye level.
The chair height is too high or too low.
If your chair is too high, your wrists may stretch uncomfortably. If it's too low, it creates a pressure point where your forearm touches the table and causes the wrist to flex into an equally uncomfortable position.
Your feet are not properly supported.
It's not uncommon to see people bend their knees back when sitting down so they can rest their feet on the chair base. But that often results in a sharp angle in the knee, which can lead to discomfort, Dana says.
Place your feet flat on the floor or on a footrest with your knees bent at least 90 degrees.
Don't get enough break.
After every 30 minutes of sitting, you should take a break and do something simple like get up and drink a glass of water. The key is to increase blood flow and take breaks from the static positions you're used to while working on the computer.
Another way to have healthy sitting habits is, of course, to get a good ergonomic office chair from Buychairs.