You should avoid sitting in THIS position while working from home
Work from home has become the new normal. Some have managed to strike a balance, while others are still dealing with pain and discomfort for prolonged sitting and poor posture. For example, many of us prefer sitting cross-legged or with one knee over the other while working on our laptops but this unintentional habit can cause health problems that you may not be aware of.
02/6​The study
According to a study published in the Blood Pressure Monitoring, sitting with your legs crossed can increase your blood pressure.
03/6​Why does this happen?
This happens because the blood in your legs has to work against gravity to be pumped back to your heart and crossing one leg over the other increases resistance, making it harder for the blood to circulate. This leads your body to increase your blood pressure to push the blood back to the heart. You won’t feel anything immediately when you sit like that. But if you sit cross legged for long periods of time, make sure not to do this for more than 15 minutes. Also, make sure you get up and walk around every hour.
04/6​Other problems caused by sitting in this position
Crossing your legs can also lead to back and neck pain. Thus, it’s best for our bodies to sit with our feet planted flat, hip-width apart on the floor. But obviously, it’s not possible to maintain a perfect posture all day long, thus it’s best to take a walk every one hour.
When you sit with your knee one over the other, your hips also get in a twisted position, which can cause one of your pelvic bones to rotate. Your pelvic bone supports your neck and spine, which can put pressure on your lower and middle back and neck.
05/6​Have you noticed?
Sitting cross legged can make your feet and legs tingly, wherein you get a numb feeling. This happens because when you put pressure of one leg on the other it causes pressure on the veins and nerves in the leg and feet. This can cause numbness and temporary paralysis of the leg, feet or ankle. Though the feeling of discomfort only lasts for one to two minutes, repeatedly doing this can cause permanent nerve damage.
06/6​​The right position of legs while sitting
Get yourself in a habit of sitting with both your feet on the floor. This will benefit your health in the long run and will help you maintain the right posture.