Chances are you’re doing it now.
That’s right.
Sitting.
Some of you are sitting on the can while watching this video--ew, don’t forget to regularly
disinfect your phone.
Some of you are curled up on the couch or sitting up against your headboard in bed.
Others are hunched over their computers.
There’s a slight chance that you’re one of those go getters that watches Infographics
videos as you walk on a treadmill or use the stair climber---well jolly good for you, I
salute you from the depths of my coffee stained, cheesy puff crumb crusted but ergonomic office
chair in my cubicle at the Infographics Institute.
We Infographics writers may drink far too much coffee for our own good, but there’s
one thing we take seriously in regards to our health: ergonomics.
Specifically how we sit at our desks.
Sitting badly can kill you.
Sure you’re probably rolling your eyes.
Yeah, yeah you’re aware that a sedentary lifestyle isn’t good for you and you should
get frequent exercise.
Very true, but right now I’m discussing posture.
Slouching is bad for you.
The average human head weighs about 10 pounds [4.5 kg].
When you hunch or roll your shoulder in and hang your head forward while sitting, you’re
shifting that weight onto your upper back and spine.
Some researchers think that for every inch you hold your head forward, you add 10 pounds
[4.5 kg] of pressure on your spine.
So if you’re slouching forward 2 inches [5 cm], your neck and upper back has to work
extra hard to hold up an extra 20 pounds [9 kg].
When you relax that pressure, such as by leaving your desk after a long day of work, your muscles
can spasm and cause nasty tension headaches.
Bad posture misaligns your spine and can also cause back, jaw, neck and nerve pain.
Furthermore, you may be compressing or contorting your internal organs.
Sitting with your body bent over causes your insides to push against each other, especially
the organs in the abdominal area; this can lead to decreased blood circulation.
Experiencing bad posture for several hours a day on a regular basis causes all sorts
of chronic conditions such as insomnia due to random body aches, pinched nerves, slipped
discs, constipation, poor balance, impaired organ function and the increased risk of developing
arthritis due to abnormal wear and tear on bone surfaces.
Maybe you think that this is not a big deal.
You sit hunched over all the time and your back feels fine.
You forgot two words--’right now’ as in ’your back feels fine right now’.
Trust us, if time machines are invented in 50 years, your senior citizen aged self is
going to rent one and come back to 2020 to slap you for sitting badly.
Quite often the sitting choices you make now have implications many years down the road
as your body ages.
Ever wonder why some old people are stooped over?
Frequently hunching can cause you to lose height--you develop hyperkyphosis or an excessive
curvature of the thoracic spine, commonly referred to as hunchback.
A study of older people with hyperkyphotic posture found that their risk of early death
from atherosclerosis and pulmonary disease was increased by 44%.
So how should you sit instead?
Upright.
Head up, core muscles engaged, shoulders relaxed with your butt and hips against the back of
the chair and your feet flat on the floor.
Make sure your back is supported, it’s best if your chair is ergonomic, but inflatable
cushions and small pillows can help too.
If you’re using a computer, the keyboard should be directly in front of you at a close,
but comfortable distance.
Generally your arms should be bent at about 90 degrees and should lightly rest on your
chair’s armrests.
Or your computer should be set back far enough that your arms can rest on your desk; you
shouldn’t be holding up your arms with no support under them.
Your eye level should be slightly below the top of your computer screen.
These are just some tips to get you started.
Some good sitting posture habits will depend on your height, individual body, workspace
and should be tailored to your particular needs.
Aside from having an ergonomic work area, it’s important to take breaks.
No matter how great your sitting posture is, prolonged static positions will take a toll
on your body.
At regular intervals, preferably every 40-50 minutes, take a break.
Blink, stand up, stretch, take a quick walk around the building, go get water; anything
to get you moving for a few minutes.
Taking multiple short breaks through your working time is better than only taking one
long break.
Other than sitting for work or school, you probably sit on a couch or in an armchair
for relaxation.
You should practice good posture here too.
Don’t twist yourself up like a pretzel; your feet should be on the floor, your butt
against the back of the seat and your back supported.
Also, be aware of how much you’re bending your neck to look at your mobile phone.
In recent years, medical professionals have begun treating a condition commonly called
‘text neck’.
While people of any age experience this, strikingly many of the sufferers are in their teens and
twenties.
Sufferers have been holding electronic devices at chest or waist-level, and looking down
at the device.
Similar to the effects of frequent hunching, this posture causes neck muscles to be shortened
and tightened, and shoulders to be rounded forward.
Lying down with your head propped up at an awkward angle, and talking on the phone with
the device pinned between your ear and your shoulder are terrible for your body too.
While using your device, be conscious of any pain you feel.
Hold your phone higher so you don’t bend as much and your neck stays relaxed.
It may sound a little silly, but you may need to take breaks from relaxing to stretch.
Instead of cradling your phone with your shoulder, use the speakerphone function or a headset.
If you play video games, it’s crucial to take breaks too.
It’s rare, but in recent years a few gamers have died from marathon gaming sessions where
they sat in the same position for 10+ hours.
They experienced deep vein thrombosis and the clot traveled through their bloodstream
up to their lungs and caused a pulmonary embolism.
We all know that there’s a risk of an accident and injury when riding in a car.
However, sitting incorrectly in the front passenger seat can greatly increase your risk
of fatality or serious injury..
You may have seen a picture of an X-ray that went around the internet a few months ago.
A passenger’s life was forever altered by being in an accident while she sat with her
feet propped up on the dashboard.
One of her hips broke and the other dislocated.
Even when the accident is not severe, riding with feet on the dashboard is bad news.
Airbags deploy between 120-220 mph [193-354 kmph].
That means that everyone else in the car may walk away with minor injuries since they were
cushioned by their airbag, but airbags act like bombs for passengers with their feet
on the dashboard.
In one accident where everyone else in the car walked away, a passenger who had their
feet on the dashboard ended up spending painful months relearning how to walk.
Her injuries included one kneecap pushing up and breaking her eye socket.
On the other leg, her ankle snapped and her foot twisted up and shattered her nose, driving
her teeth through her lower lip.
Her head snapped back and got concussed, permanently affecting her memory.
If you’re a passenger, always sit with your feet on the floor and your seatbelt buckled
in.
The lower belt should sit snugly across your lap and pelvis area – never your stomach.
If you’re pregnant, you should wear the lap belt below your belly.
Adjust the shoulder harness to fit comfortably across your collarbone and chest.
It should never rub on your neck or face.
Never put the shoulder belt behind your back or under your arm, that defeats the point
of it!
If you’re transporting children, make sure you have the appropriate safety seat for their
size.
Most of us would not drive a baby around if we didn’t have a carseat.
But we’ll bend the rules for a young child.
I get it, you’re watching your nephew and you want a snack.
A drive thru for Rick Ronald’s is right near your house.
Your nephew is big for his age and he’s good at following instructions, especially
if there are french fries involved, so he’ll sit quietly buckled in for the duration of
the trip.
Don’t do it.
Various surveys show that nearly one-third of all car crashes in the US occur less than
five miles from home.
A 2017 CDC study found that car seat use reduces the risk for injury in crashes by 71–82%
for children, when compared with seat belt use alone.
Also, booster seat use reduces the risk for serious injury by 45% for children aged 4-8,
when compared with seat belt use alone.
If you have questions about passenger safety, check the driving license guidelines for your
area and the CDC, those are good places to start.
Lastly, we’d like to talk about dropping a deuce.
Yep, you heard correctly--pooping.
Some medical professionals think that you’re pooping wrong.
While not definitive, there’s some evidence to suggest that the modern, western toilet
encourages and can aggravate pooping problems such as hemorrhoids and constipation.
When you sit on a toilet with your knees at a right angle, your puborectalis muscle, the
muscle responsible for continence, relaxes only partially.
When you squat like a significant portion of the world, your puborectalis muscle relaxes
completely, meaning that it’s easier to evacuate waste and far less straining is required.
Some researchers have likened sitting on a toilet as opposed to squatting like having
a kink in a garden hose.
So...if you want to address this issue and maybe make dropping the kids off at the pool
easier, you can learn to squat over the bowl or sit as normal, but raise your knees higher
than your hips by placing your feet on a stool, etc. to create a natural squatting position.
Hey, the Infographics Institute is just the purveyor of fascinating and useful information.
What you do with that information is up to you!
Now that you’ve got sitting sorted out, make sure you’re sleeping in the right position
And ever wonder if you could die from too much pleasure?
Well, the Infographics Show has.
Go watch now to find out