More people than ever are living a sedentary lifestyle. This doesn’t just refer to people you think of as stereotypically lazy; those who don’t exercise and eat junk food and just watch television.
The sedentary lifestyle is also lived by professionals in the era of high technology and service-heavy industries.
Your average office worker spends most of their time sitting down. They’re usually spending eight hours a day at their desk, and this is doing more damage to them than you might think.
There are other biological dangers concomitant with the sedentary lifestyle to consider, but the problem of posture is its visual effects and the back pain which it can cause.
Thankfully, correcting your posture at your desk is something you can do for cheap. We’re going to take a look at cheap measures you should take that range from around $15 to completely free.
Exercise, stretching, repositioning
Let’s start with the free ones! While bad posture isn’t exactly great for any length of time, it doesn’t help if you’re staying in that position for a lot of time. So make sure you get up and stretch every so often. Another thing to consider is that even “good posture” isn’t great if you remain in that one position for hours on end. Your pose should be as relaxed and neutral as possible, but you should adjust the back and tilt of your chair so that you change the position of your back in relation to your legs every so often.
Footstools/Footrests
One indicator of good posture is that your feet are flat on the floor. If they don’t sit flat on the floor, then your posture isn’t going to be as relaxed, straight, and comfortable as it needs to be. One way of achieving good posture cheaply is to invest in a good footrest. You can get a basic but effective footrest for your desk from Amazon for just $14.99 with the Amazon Basics Footrest. The position of your feet when you’re sitting at a desk determine the level of lumbar support you’re getting!
Monitor repositioning
The position of your monitor determines the angle at which you place your head; if it’s positioned too low, then you’re going to need to keep your neck tilted downwards for too long. If it’s too high up, then your neck will simply be tilted in the other direction for too long! So making sure your monitor is placed in a sensible position on your desk is essential. The middle of your monitor should be at eye level; this may seem like an odd position at first, but it will keep you from slouching – you’ll get used to it eventually!
Keyboard repositioning
The position of your arms and hands relative to the rest of your body is also important. If your arms and wrists don’t have enough support, then you’re much more likely to slouch. This is why it’s important to ensure your keyboard is in a decent position. Consider moving it closer to the monitor to ensure that your elbows can be supported by the desk, which makes it much easier to sit up straight. To make sure your wrists also get good support, consider a cheap armrest.
Laptop stands
More and more people are using laptops simply because laptops offer more mobility. But laptops can create a big problem: the monitors are naturally very low, meaning that you’re more likely to slouch if you’re using a laptop. You need something that can raise your laptop a bit while retaining its usual ease of use. An afford laptop stand, can help prevent posture problems while using a laptop. If you don’t like the position of the laptop’s keyboard in this position, then simply plug in a USB one! Again, the middle of your laptop screen should be at eye level!
To read more about using posture support at a desk, read our reviews of posture support while sitting
I plan on testing every posture corrector you can buy including braces, posture solutions at a computer, posture chairs, and smart posture devices. I blog about the products here. Drop me a line anytime for questions and I'll try to help!
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