Читать книгу 100 Steps Towards Success - Shehzad Amin PH.D - Страница 23

20. Sit up Straight.

Do you ever find yourself slouching at work? Most definitely – as it is something we all do. However, it is wrong, especially for work. Slouching destabilizes you and reduces your performance level at work.

Slouching is a bad posture, and bad posture such as slouching represents signs of tiredness and depression. Even if you are tired or depressed, bad posture will further heighten your feeling of fatigue and depression. Bad posture also cuts off your circulation and takes your energy.

Sitting with bad posture for long work hours comes with a variety of health hazards. It's understandable that one might not be able to avoid the pitfalls of slouching while sitting.

Never slouch, as doing so compresses the lungs, overcrowds other vital organs, rounds the back, and throws you off balance. — Joseph H. Pilates

There are a variety of tips and tricks with which you can enhance your sitting posture at work. The next session will address that.

How to Maintain A Good Sitting Posture at Work.

Slouching and lousy sitting posture could lead to health hazards such as cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. If you slouch for an extended period, you will experience inactive muscles, and you will burn a lot of calories, leaving you stressed out and feeling as if you were jogging or running. You could also leave yourself with a lifetime of pain and injuries because of your lousy sitting posture.

The following is a list of ways that you should be sitting at work to maintain good posture:

1 Computer Monitor and Eyes.To maintain a good sitting posture, you must keep your eyes in line with the screen area with which you want to focus on, or the area you will be focusing on the most. If you are writing codes or sending emails, looking at your screen and not at the area of screen focus puts a lot of strain on your neck. Stress on your neck leads to injuries like cervical strains, headaches, and cervical disc herniation. Do all it takes to raise your monitor to the level of your eyes. A simple tip for this is to stack books under your monitor. This will help build the monitor to the level of your eyes. If you are working with more than one monitor, use this method for each monitor, as you stand a higher chance of putting a strain on your neck as you're continually looking sideways most of the day.

2 Desk.At your office, you continuously involve your back, arms, neck, and any part of your body whenever you are reaching out for something. Reaching out to grab that mouse, file, phone, or water bottle can put a lot of stress on your body. You must keep these items at reasonable reach and level on your desk. By doing this, you don't have to put excessive pressure on your body, which can result in a permanent strain.

3 Arms.When you are stretching and extending your arms, it involves the shoulders as they start to rotate forward. These rotations can lead to loss of strength in your upper back. To avoid intense upper back pain and shoulder injuries, you must keep your arms at a comfortable ninety degree angle and position yourself in a neutral and resting sitting position. It is advisable also to use a chair with an armrest, which can help you relax your arms when they are weary.

4 Back.Your back is everything. Your back carries the spine, and once your spine is dead, you are paralyzed and cannot move. With this, you want your back to be supported and be in a position that is both convenient and comfortable for you.Your back is usually supported with a small curve. This curve is in the lumbar spine where you have the lordotic curve on your lower end. When your back does not have this support, it begins to curve in the opposite direction, thereby causing kyphosis and leaving you with a hunchback. With that, you will experience injuries such as chronic postural lower back sprains, herniation, and lower back strains. If your chair cannot provide you back support, find a way to get one, and create support for your back.

5 Legs and Feet.When you cross your legs, or you leave your toes touching the floor, you put a strain on your large supportive muscles. This action will cut off the circulation of blood flow. Keeping your legs crossed for long periods can also lead to intense pain. Crossing your legs is not bad, but don't do it for extended periods. You must be aware of the position of your legs and feet so that you can be active and productive at work.

6 Vertical Alignment.While seated, you must align your body vertically. Leaning forward or reaching forward is not the best thing. The proven fact is that for every time the head comes an inch forward, the spine feels like it has taken on ten extra pounds of weight. This weight further puts a vast amount of strain on your muscles, and you don't want that to happen.

In conclusion, making changes to improve lousy sitting posture could go a long way to enhance your creativity, thinking, and productivity at work. Slouching and crossing your legs are horrible posture habits which could lead to chronic pain and injuries.

However, all of these issues can be prevented if you follow the steps above and sit up the right way. Be creative, set up a comfortable desk, and have a chair with an armrest and back support. At first, you may find it uncomfortable to adjust to the best sitting posture, as you are already used to slouching and bad posture habits. But little by little, you will get it as you begin to incorporate these steps to sitting in the right posture. Your body will gradually adjust to a healthy sitting posture, leaving you free of the work and health risks that accompany lousy sitting posture.