By Sharon Naylor

Creators.com

Are you a slumper? Check your posture right now to see if your
shoulders are rounded forward and your back curled. Chances are
you’ve eased into your natural posture: slouched down, head in
alignment with your spine, shoulders back, back not straight. And your
brain may be paying the price.

Researchers at several top academic institutions, including Harvard

and Columbia universities, have been studying the link between bad
posture and the brain for decades, and their recent findings show that
improving posture can improve the brain’s function, and thus your mood
and memory levels.

Researchers, for instance, found that when you assume what they call
“power poses” of confident stance and tall, uplifted posture, your
decision-making is subconsciously affected. When you stand or sit up
taller, and pull your shoulders back and outward, your brain gets a
signal that it’s the confident, powerful you in charge of your thinking,
and, in turn, you might make more confident choices.

A 2003 Ohio State University study found that when you shake your
head “no,” or nod your head “yes” while observing a scenario or listening
to information, you may form positive or negative opinions about your
observations depending on the motion of your head and its positive or
negative message to the brain. And when you sit up straight, you’re
more likely to think positively and recall more positive memories.
Slumping and slouching can generate negative memories, thoughts and
perceptions, which creates stress hormones in the brain, as opposed to
happier hormones that can trickle down into your daily choices and
create a more energetic, happier you that feels like working out.
Everything is connected, and it all starts with how you hold your frame.

Dana Carney, a social psychologist at UC Berkeley, conducted a 2010

survey that was among the first to reveal that power poses
demonstrating confidence (regardless of whether or not a person
actually feels confident) increase levels of testosterone and lower
levels of cortisol — the stress hormone — in the brain. Because
testosterone is associated with self-confidence, having good posture
can create hormones in the brain that make you feel more self-
assured. Carney says the power pose sends a signal to the brain, and
what begins as a neural impulse turns into an actual, physiological
response that boosts brainpower.

And science aside, your posture affects how you see yourself, as well
as how others see you. If you’re slumped down and slouching during a
job interview, for example, the interviewer will likely see you as less
confident, and perhaps will have a neural impulse to judge you as less
capable. If you have good posture, with your shoulders back and your
body aligned, you can look better in your clothes and will likely receive
compliments from loved ones, which will boost your confidence and
mood. You could also just love how you look in the mirror, which will
make you feel lighter and more positive.

Good posture also pertains to walking. If you walk slumped down and in
a shuffle, you look bedraggled and overwrought, which can make you
actually feel bedraggled and overwrought. When you walk uplifted and
with confidence, your brain registers “uplifted and with confidence,”
and pumps out happy hormones to match the message.

Physical pain from bad posture can affect your brain, too. When you
slouch often, you may experience back, neck, shoulder and even wrist
pain, which can send signals to the brain that you’re suffering. The
brain then needs to create pain-reducing hormones rather than happy
ones. It’s quite hard to feel happy when you’re achy, sore or in such
pain that you have to take medication for relief. Pain can cause
depression when the brain gets sapped of positive hormones.

So in many connected ways, good posture makes for a happier brain.

And with your happier brain, you have better relationships, fitness,
work performance, more intimacy and other positive effects on your
lifestyle.

There are several ways to improve your posture, including taking a

“yoga for better posture” class, or just yoga classes in general, since
yoga elongates the body and retrains your frame to be more upright
with your shoulders back and spine aligned, the position will soon feel
more natural to you. Exercise as a whole also helps to improve posture.

You might also ask a co-worker or relative to help you get more mindful
of your posture, with a gentle touch on your shoulder if you’re slouched
down at your desk or kitchen counter. When you feel the touch, you’ll
straighten up your posture and send a positive message to your brain.
And even if you get a hundred touches in a day, you’ll eventually retrain
your frame to hold