During lockdown many people have set up temporary office spaces at kitchen tables, lounge sofas or even beds. Day after day they adopt a comfy position to get them through the day without much regard for any long term effects.
Many studies have shown that sitting for long hours a day is quite unhealthy and some have even claimed quite dramatically it's "the new smoking"!
So what happens to our muscles if we sit for long periods:
Starting at the top, our head moves into a forwards and downwards position creating an imbalance of weight distribution for the relatively small neck muscles to deal with. In turn this creates weakness and tension, the neck and upper shoulders ache and may result in headaches.
To create the ultimate comfy position we round our shoulders forwards and slouch. Over time the chest muscles shorten and tension is created in the mid back. Our lovely lower back curve is flattened putting an abnormal amount of pressure on the surrounding muscles and making them work harder and tire quicker.
Muscles in our hips are far happier when we're standing. They're just not designed to be in a shortened position for long, so will become weak. Our glutes (bottom muscles) switch off completely. You're sat on them so they're not needed!
My top tips for giving your body a helping hand:
1) Where possible, set up your workspace correctly i.e. monitor at eye level, good height chair, feet flat on the floor.
2) If you have a laptop, an external keyboard and mouse can be used so the laptop can be raised to eye level. If this isn't possible make sure you take regular breaks.
3) Put a cushion under you if you need extra height and one behind you to support your lower back (this will help stop the slouch).
4) Take regular breaks - ideally it's recommended that for every 20 minutes sat down, have 10 minutes standing up. This will be great for your concentration levels. But I know in reality it might not be practical, so be aware of sitting in the same position for long periods and get up when you can. A few minutes break is better than no minutes break.
5) Stretch - don't let your muscles adapt to a rounded, hunched posture. Stretch them out, sit up tall and open up the chest. You may find you can now breathe deeper now you're not slouching. Check out some great back and neck stretches here on my Facebook page.