Hey there!
Yeah, I’m talking to you.
Stop sleeping on your stomach!
I don’t mean to be blunt, but a straightened spine is no laughing matter.
Unless your a vampire sleeping upside down, stomach sleeping is arguably the worst position
you can be in when catching ‘Z’s.
While it is proven to reduce snoring, there’s not many other benefits.
Stomach sleeping is known to put a strain on the neck, as well as upset the natural
curve of the spine.
While it can have a serious long term effect on you physical state, it’s only one of
the many habits that can also have these results.
Let’s talk about 7 activities that are damaging your posture.
You won’t believe what we found.
Let’s just say you may want to rethink how you do things like texting and brushing your
teeth.
Before we continue, what’s something that won’t damage your posture?
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Texting We’re going to start out with one that you
may not have acknowledged yet.
Believe it or not, constantly checking to see if your crush has responded to you, has
as many physical downsides as it does mental.
Texting is the single most widely used feature on smartphones.
97% of North Americans text at least once a day.
In one year alone, 8.3 trillion text messages will be sent.
While it’s nice to see us all come together to set the record for the most annual texting,
this habit carries some bizarre physical repercussions.
In 2019, an article was released revealing that heavy cell phone use is resulting in
young people developing actual horns in the back of their skulls!
This is due to the strain put on your neck from constantly tilting your neck at an awkward
angle.
If you’d like to learn more about this phenomenon, check out our video dedicated to the topic.
Horns or no horns, your position while texting puts your head at a 60 degree angle.
This can put an extra 30-60 pounds of stress on your neck.
This routine builds over the long term, resulting in chronic back and neck pain as you get older.
Phone junkies like you and I are often advised to hold it upward.
This way your head is tilted only 10 degrees, which relieves stress on your neck.
Shoulder Bags
While this one doesn’t come as a surprise, it’s still awfully frustrating.
Many, if not most of us, carry our contents in some sort of baggage item.
While carrying any extra weight can take its toll on your body, shoulder bags are particularly
harmful.
Did you know that the average weight of a females handbag is 5.2 pounds.
The ideal weight for anyone is said to be in the ballpark of 2.2.
As it turns out, carrying a weight on one side of your body is an unnatural human function.
Whether it’s a purse, satchel, or one of those fancy “murses” you hipsters drool
over, humans shouldn’t carry any handbag exceeding 10 percent of their body weight.
Due to our hectic schedules however, the list of things we need on hand grows by the day.
It’s just another way we are ruining our posture.
Sitting “Wait, you guys are just nit-picking at
random, harmless things we do in our everyday lives.”
I know, this one seems like a stretch, but did you know that there’s a proper way to
sit?
We’re not trying to sound like a drill sergeant, but when it comes to posture, you don’t
want to take chances.
The average person spends 64 hours a week sitting.
That’s about 9 hours of sitting each day!
When you add up all of our commuting, studying and desk work, it makes sense.
Not only are people who sit too often more susceptible to obesity and early death, but
slouching while you sit brings on a whole lot of back problems.
Slouching creates tension in the back, neck and shoulders, which can lead to chronic pain
in the future.
If you happen to be texting, that can add extra tension.
The best thing to do, if possible, is to try and take a break from sitting every 30 minutes.
Then, when talking on the phone, try moving around while doing it.
Standing “Okay, I’m turning off this video.
You guys are just playing mind games at this point.
You’re like an obsessed ex!”
We’ll confess, we kind of lead you into that one, but we’ll make this one quick.
The truth is, standing with bad posture can really put a strain on your muscles.
Along with sitting, this is probably the easiest way to ruin your posture.
The best way of standing is to bear our weight on the balls of our feet, with our knees slightly
bent.
Make sure your shoulders are pulled back.
For our final piece of advice…
We don’t mean to sound dramatic, but keep your head up.
High Heels Now we’re not picking on the ladies.
It is however something that we need to mention.
While some variation of the high heel has been popular throughout history, they can
be detrimental to your posture.
The position high heels put your feet in is unnatural.
With the ball of your foot elevated, stress is placed on your Achilles tendon.
This can affect everything from the way you walk to the way one simply stands.
The best method to alleviate stress on your Achilles is to stretch out your calf muscles.
When possible, it’s also good to take your heels off and give your feet a rest.
“Ha, high heels.
These guys are seriously reaching for anything that can possibly hurt your posture.
What’s next, you gonna tell us brushing your teeth is bad too?
What a joke!”
Brushing Your Teeth Guys, don’t leave!
Seriously, I’m sure all your teeth are pearly white.
This isn’t about that.
However, brushing your teeth can damage your back.
Ever heard of the “waiter’s lean”?
It’s the name given to the uncomfortable position people stand in while leaning forward
on a specific object.
Think back to texting, only this time your head isn’t tilted 60 degrees.
When brushing your teeth, your arm is continually moving in a twist motion.
This repetitive movement can do some serious harm to your lower back, neck and shoulders.
While advice on how to brush is not often heard outside of a dentist’s office, let’s
talk about ways to help your posture.
When brushing, try keeping your foot on a possible stool or bathroom scale.
This prevents you from leaning forward, while also adjusting your posture.
Stress “But this isn’t an activity…”
We’re aware of that.
Unfortunately, this pick is too important not to skip over.
Stress can have drastic effects on your posture.
At the same time, having bad posture can also pile on more stress.
It’s an unpleasant cycle that anyone can fall into.
Having proper posture is normally associated with high-self esteem and confidence.
If one is feeling low self-esteem, or is feeling exhausted and unmotivated, their body language
will manifest this through slouching and poor shoulder positioning.
This goes on to affect the natural alignment of your body, causing your posture to suffer
even further damage.
What things are you doing that may be hurting your posture?
Sound off in the comment section and don’t forget to subscribe to Bestie for more great
content.