6 Reasons to stop slouching

Do you ever cough, sneeze or laugh and then whoops! You experience light bladder leakage? It could be because of your posture. When you slouch, more weight squashes down on your bladder and pelvic floor muscles. Over time, this will weaken the muscles and cause urinary incontinence. Sitting straight combined with doing pelvic floor muscle exercises can save you from a lifetime of adult diapers.

Hunching over your computer desk could be the reason your blood pressure is raised. An article in the Journal of Neuroscience reports that a link exists between neck muscles, posture and high blood pressure. Cells in your neck send signals to your brain to make sure you are getting sufficient blood supply. When the neck muscles are strained from holding your head out of alignment, they don’t function as well as they should.

Feel like a cow with a bad case of bloat, especially after eating even if you haven’t stuffed yourself? Or do you find you often need to do unladylike bodily functions like burp and pass gas? Good posture while eating is vital to making sure your food is properly digested. Slouching means your stomach is squashed and is unable to perform its job properly.

Slouching squashes your internal organs, including your lungs. You’ll find your lung function will greatly improve if you keep proper spinal alignment. People with respiratory diseases like asthma should benefit greatly from improving their posture.

Who would have thought that slouching could affect your mood and energy level? San Francisco State University professor of health education Erik Peper, Ph.D., discovered that improving body posture is linked to an improved mood and increased energy level. He believes you can trick your body into feeling more energetic.

Bad posture ages you. By slouching, you are on the downward slope to having a dowager’s hump (the hunchback your mother warned you about), a triple chin and a big belly. By simply standing straighter, you can look taller, thinner and younger.