If you drink coffee after 2 p.m. you’ll be up all night bingewatching Netflix and refreshing Instagram (why isn’t anyone doing anything interesting at 3 a.m.?!) And while a cookie from the kitchen usually perks you up in the short term, it leaves you crashing an hour later—yawning and snapping at all of your coworkers. But what if we told you that addressing that terrible posture could provide the energy boost you’re so desperately seeking when the mid-afternoon slump rolls around? Our posture affects our energy levels as well as our ability to generate positive and negative thoughts that shape our mood. In one experiment, Dr. Erik Peper, San Francisco State University, asked test subjects to either skip, swinging their arms in an upward motion, or slouch as they walked down the hall. Almost all of the skipping participants reported feeling more energetic, happier, and positive. Meanwhile, those who had slouched reported the opposite emotions, feeling sad, lonely, isolated, sleeping, and “zombie-like.”
Sounds like us at 4 p.m., after 7 hours of being slumped over a computer begins to take a toll. And feeling happier and more energized is far from the the only improvement you’ll feel from taking the time to adjust your posture. A study conducted by researchers at Ohio State University found that sitting up straight reinforced confidence, and another study conducted by Italian researchers found that a group educated on the benefits of good posture and asked to perform posture exercises every two to three hours reported 41 percent fewer headaches, 43 percent less neck and shoulder pain, and a 51 percent reduction in the use of pain medication. Many claim that an upright posture also improves memory because sitting up straight helps increase blood flow and oxygen to the brain—by up to 40 percent, according to some accounts. “Emotions and thoughts affect our posture and energy levels; conversely, posture and energy affect our emotions and thoughts,” said one of Peper’s studies.
If your emotions, thoughts and energy levels could all use some help, good posture is one common denominator that can improve them all. But “sitting up straight” is easier said than done. So we suggest taking a 5-minute break to perform a yoga-sequence that will get your body to make the right adjustments. Not only is yoga a sure-fire way to improve your posture over time—but it has also been shown to combat many of the negative side effects that come with slouching at your desk, like tiredness and low energy levels, cognitive focus and speed, and stress and anxiety (you need this proposal submitted in an hour?!). If you’re lucky enough to have an office with a door, or work in an setting conducive to hitting the floor, here are 5 moves for you to pencil into your mid-afternoon schedule when fatigue sets in. But what if rolling out a mat and dropping into downward dog isn’t exactly socially acceptable office behavior? Chloe Kernaghan and Krissy Jones, the duo behind SKY TING YOGA, have you covered.
You can do these five moves without even leaving your desk chair. The sequence will instantly improve posture, boost your mood and energy levels, and give your productivity a turbo-shot (sans caffeine) to get through the rest of the day. Place your right ankle over your left knee. Option to lean forward and gently press the right knee down. Hold for 5 breaths. Repeat on the other side. Great pose for releasing tension from the hips and glutes. Sit to the right side of the chair. Feet parallel under the knees. Grab for the back of your chair with both hands. Sit up tall and turn to face the back of your chair. Hold five breaths on each side. Great for spinal health. Reach the right arm over head. Bend the elbow and reach the middle of your back. Sweep the left hand behind you and connect your hands to touch. If the hands don’t find each other—grab hold of your shirt. Hold 5 breaths on each side. Helps to alleviate shoulder tension and open the chest. 1. If you have a stable chair with a level seat, you can stand on your chair and hang over your legs.
Grab the chair seat. Lie on the floor and swing your calves and feet onto the seat of the chair. Hold for as long as you want. Great for circulation and relaxation for the nervous system. Join Chloe Kernaghan and Krissy Jones this Saturday, February 18, for Art of Yoga at the Brooklyn Museum. They will be leading a yoga class, with music accompaniment and a sound-bath meditation by Aya and Tyler. Get your tickets here! Find Your Spirit Animal: Life Lessons From the Duo Behind Sky Ting Yoga A Yoga Primer: 13 Styles Explained 5 Yoga Moves You Can Do On An AirplaneTo a children’s writing desk belongs the right children’s desk chair. Without a reasonable desk chair for your child the best children’s desk is worthless because no durable ergonomic seating is possible, and back pain is thus inevitable. A children’s swivel chair is one of the main tools. Students often sit at school on nonergonomic chairs at standardized desks that – if at all – happen to match their size.
All children are subjected to using the same furniture in the classroom, yet are physically quite different. Because of that it is even more important that your child can sit at home at an adjustable children’s desk on a swivel chair whose backrest and seat depth adapts to the child’s body and learn relaxed. Correct posture prevents headaches and promotes concentration, which ultimately leads to better grades. Here are a few tips to help you find the best children’s desk chair and prepare your child for more joy of learning:In the following list we have compiled our test winner, and summarized the main features for direct comparison.Wouldn’t it be nice if we can just buy any chair for our kids? But it’s not that simple. It can be confusing, with so many different (and conflicting) suggestions online and from your friends. So in all likelihood, you have lots of questions when it comes to buying chairs for your children. So let’s get right down to it!Here are some possible answers:Before you choose and buy a swivel chair for a kid, there are some factors you need to consider first.
Basically, you have to address the concerns we listed regarding the unsuitability of adult chairs.So here are the factors:So what can you do? Instead of just crossing your fingers and hoping for the best, may be you can pick a few chairs that fit your budget and other needs, and then your kid can pick the one they like. That means it’s their fault when it arrives and they don’t like how it looks. But chances are that they should like it well enough.Often a manufacturer may boast about “ergonomic” features. Check these claims out thoroughly. Check that your kid’s hands lie comfortably when they’re writing, typing on a keyboard, or using a mouse.If possible, see if the swivel chair can encourage your kid to sit up properly. That’s not always easy, but it can be nice if you can teach your child proper posture. They’ll thank you later in life when they don’t have bad posture as adults.Before we go into this discussion, let’s define what a swopper stool is. This is a special stool that offers all kinds of health benefits.
It strengthens the back muscles, and helps keep the invertebrate discs healthy. It prevents “congestion” in the legs, and if you use it you can feel energetic and fit all day long. It’s great for adults because it can help prevent backaches. Some swopper stools even have 5-year warranties.Now this may be good for you, since you’re an adult. The problem with this design is that it doesn’t have a backrest. Can you imagine a child sitting on a desk for long periods of time without needing a backrest? Seriously, sometimes you need to sit back when you need to ponder something, or you just want to take a short break from staring at the PC monitor.You can ask you kids for their opinion, but it may be better to just get a swivel chair. Even if they pick the swopper stool, they may end up not using it properly—or not using it at all. The swivel chair has a back rest and arm rests, and these features very helpful for children. They offer a lot of comfort, and you need all the incentives you can get to encourage your kids to take their studies seriously.