"Sit up straight!" "Don't Stoop!" We've all heard these words more than once from our mother while growing up. And most of us reluctantly complied with her command, although we had no clue about the science behind it. Having a good posture means alligning your body's positioning with respect to the force of gravity. While we are standing, sitting or lying down gravity exerts a force on our joints, ligaments and muscles. Good posture helps us in distributing the force of gravity through our body so that no one structure gets overstressed.

This is how your posture should be while standing, sitting, and sleeping:

Standing

While you’re standing, there should be a make-believe straight line connecting your ears to your shoulders, and going all the way down to your ankles. In simple terms, you ears, shoulders and ankles should be in one straight vertical line.

To get your posture right, try standing in front of the mirror and practice aligning your ears, shoulders and ankles in an imaginary straight line. Doing this would be easy but incorporating this new habit in day to day life may seem a little difficult in the beginning. Don’t give up and keep trying until you start standing in the right posture naturally.

Sitting

Be it in front of the computer or behind the steering wheel of a car, most people get their postures wrong and don’t realize it until their back is severely damaged. You shouldn’t be lying on the chair but seated in the “S-shaped” spinal curve. Your neck should be straight, there should be equal weight on your hips, the back should be in a straight line and your knees should bent at 90-degrees angle. Yeah it doesn’t look cool when you are sitting like that, but it is definitely better than a sore back, isn’t it?

Sleeping

Does your back hurt almost every morning after you wake up? If so, then probably your have got your sleeping posture wrong. For the best possible posture, you should be sleeping on your back while maintaining the imaginary straight line between your ears, shoulders, and ankles. Otherwise, sleeping on either side is not such a bad idea. But, sleeping on your stomach is definitely a crime. Moreover, your mattress shouldn’t be all that soft, I know it’s cozy to sleep on it, but it is one of the biggest causes of your sore back in the morning. Try switching to a mattress that is more firm, as it will support your back and keep it straight all night.

Back your back

Sitting, standing, and sleeping in a proper postural alignment will allow you to work more proficiently with less fatigue and sprain on your body's ligaments and muscles. Moreover, a good posture will reduce stress and strain on your spine and you will be able to maintain a healthy back all your life.