Your mother was right: Sitting up straight is good for you. It helps reduce lower back pain, aids with digestion, improves respiration, and relieves tension in your neck, upper back, and shoulders as you work at your desk.

Sitting up straight requires a stable, balanced positioning of the pelvis, hips, spine, shoulders, neck, and head. Awareness about yourideal body alignmentandcore musclesis key to this.

Andy Zito / Illustration Works / Getty Images

Computer worker diagram shows desk height, hip and knee angles and more

You may think that sitting up straight is a simple thing to do—and it largely is. But, people often focus solely on straightening the spine, particularly thelumbar spine. This is a posture that is not only unsustainable (particularly if you sit at a desk for hours on end) but also places undue stress on both the upper and lower back.

From the perspective of protecting the stability and balance of the spine, you need to take into account your body as a whole.

Sitting up straight is ultimately a process that has to be learned. Once you have found a comfortable chair to sit in, follow these steps to achieve the optimal postural alignment:

While it may take time before these steps become a habit, with perseverance and practice, they’ll eventually be second nature.

Other Tips and Tools

You can certainly buy an expensive ergonomic desk chair that provides the right support in all the right places, but many people don’t have this luxury.

Even so, it may be a good idea to invest in an economical desk chair if you sit at the computer all day. There are also useful tools and tricks to help you avoid back, hip, and neck pain.

Here are several for you to consider:

Summary

Sitting up straight in your chair requires the conscious alignment of your hips, pelvis, lower back, upper back, shoulder, neck, and head. Doing so can reduce lower back pain, improve respiration and digestion, and reduce tension in your neck and shoulders, particularly if you sit at your desk for hours on end.

A Word From Verywell

Frequently Asked Questions

Sitting up straight is uncomfortable because it is not natural. Modern life requires us to sit for much longer than the human body was intended to. Your muscles also have to work against gravity, leading to muscle exhaustion and slumping, which only adds to chronic back, neck, or shoulder pain.

A supportive chair should curve inward at the lower back to support the lumbar spine. The height of the seat should be adjusted so that your knees are level with your hips and your feet are flat on the floor. You should sit comfortably with your back straight against the seatback with shoulders relaxed and ears aligned over your shoulders.

4 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Albarrati A, Zafar H, Alghadir AH, Anwer S.Effect of upright and slouched sitting postures on the respiratory muscle strength in healthy young males.Biomed Res Int.2018;2018:3058970. doi:10.1155/2018/305897Jung KS, Jung HW, In TS, Cho HY.Effects of prolonged sitting with slumped posture on trunk muscular fatigue in adolescents with and without chronic lower back pain.Medicina (Kaunas).2021 Jan;57(1):3. doi:10.3390/medicina57010003Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety.Working in a sitting position - good body position.Van Niekerk SM, Louw AQ, Hillier S.The effectiveness of a chair intervention in the workplace to reduce musculoskeletal symptoms. A systematic review.BMC Musculoskelet Disord.2012;13:145. doi:10.1186/1471-2474-13-145Additional ReadingCleveland Clinic.Back health and posture.

4 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Albarrati A, Zafar H, Alghadir AH, Anwer S.Effect of upright and slouched sitting postures on the respiratory muscle strength in healthy young males.Biomed Res Int.2018;2018:3058970. doi:10.1155/2018/305897Jung KS, Jung HW, In TS, Cho HY.Effects of prolonged sitting with slumped posture on trunk muscular fatigue in adolescents with and without chronic lower back pain.Medicina (Kaunas).2021 Jan;57(1):3. doi:10.3390/medicina57010003Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety.Working in a sitting position - good body position.Van Niekerk SM, Louw AQ, Hillier S.The effectiveness of a chair intervention in the workplace to reduce musculoskeletal symptoms. A systematic review.BMC Musculoskelet Disord.2012;13:145. doi:10.1186/1471-2474-13-145Additional ReadingCleveland Clinic.Back health and posture.

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Albarrati A, Zafar H, Alghadir AH, Anwer S.Effect of upright and slouched sitting postures on the respiratory muscle strength in healthy young males.Biomed Res Int.2018;2018:3058970. doi:10.1155/2018/305897Jung KS, Jung HW, In TS, Cho HY.Effects of prolonged sitting with slumped posture on trunk muscular fatigue in adolescents with and without chronic lower back pain.Medicina (Kaunas).2021 Jan;57(1):3. doi:10.3390/medicina57010003Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety.Working in a sitting position - good body position.Van Niekerk SM, Louw AQ, Hillier S.The effectiveness of a chair intervention in the workplace to reduce musculoskeletal symptoms. A systematic review.BMC Musculoskelet Disord.2012;13:145. doi:10.1186/1471-2474-13-145

Albarrati A, Zafar H, Alghadir AH, Anwer S.Effect of upright and slouched sitting postures on the respiratory muscle strength in healthy young males.Biomed Res Int.2018;2018:3058970. doi:10.1155/2018/305897

Jung KS, Jung HW, In TS, Cho HY.Effects of prolonged sitting with slumped posture on trunk muscular fatigue in adolescents with and without chronic lower back pain.Medicina (Kaunas).2021 Jan;57(1):3. doi:10.3390/medicina57010003

Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety.Working in a sitting position - good body position.

Van Niekerk SM, Louw AQ, Hillier S.The effectiveness of a chair intervention in the workplace to reduce musculoskeletal symptoms. A systematic review.BMC Musculoskelet Disord.2012;13:145. doi:10.1186/1471-2474-13-145

Cleveland Clinic.Back health and posture.

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