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Tell HN: Putting mirrors around my desk improved my posture
Last year I purchased 2 standing mirrors, one that stands astride my monitor viewing area, but is ahead in the distance about 7 feet, and one that is directly lateral to me, that lets me check my posture every so often. I think the lack of good data for "how I'm sitting" can result in unsavory posture choices throughout the day, so by adding data or visibility to the equation, I am now able to do something about it. Sure, you can do it with one mirror, but something about having two distinct angles gives extra nuance for tilt and lean.
- i4i 3y agoFYI, A very simple awareness hack is resting your reading glasses farther down your nose, so that you're forced to have your head sit higher/straighter when looking at your screen.
- JimtheCoder 3y agoIf I put mirrors around my desk, I would just spend all day looking at myself...
- Darmody 3y agoFlexing to see my gains. Yes.
- hluska 3y agoIn my case, wondering how two good looking parents could have someone who looks like a puppet…:) I like yours more.
- anon84873628 3y agoNo worse than only looking at myself in the video call. Why doesn't every app put yourself directly under the camera by default??
- dalmo3 3y agoThis but unironically. I had a mirror next to my desk for a while and ended up having to move it out of sight as it was distracting.
- grugagag 3y agoMaybe until the novelty gets old but then turns to glimpses here and there.
- garrisonj 3y agoI legitimately might try this.
- anon84873628 3y agoAs soon as I saw the title I thought, dang that is a good idea. I doubt I have the space/angles for it though.
- zamalek 3y agoKeep in mind that classical wisdom about posture is cooked-up nonsense. Remember that it was the same people who had women balancing bowls of water on their head and wearing corsets who came up with these ideas. An actually good posture consists of two things: whatever feels comfortable, and changing your posture over the day.
- progbits 3y agoI'm most comfortable curled up like a shrimp and I'm absolutely certain that isn't good for me, so I'm not sure your statement is entirely true. :)
- Gunnerhead 3y agoHahaha, the classic picture: https://i.redd.it/dg7bp13xzc871.jpg https://i.redd.it/dg7bp13xzc871.jpg
- AQuantized 3y agoSo long as you don't stay like that all the time and vary your posture, it's probably not as negative as popularly assumed. Moving a lot is more important than assuming some static 'optimal' posture.
- ramraj07 3y agoSo ever since lockdown I've pretty much spend like 18 hours a day on my bed: I sleep there and I do most of my work fromnthere, including meetings, debugging and mild coding. I only get up to eat and work out and if I'm typing a lot. Haven't noticed any issues till now. Let's see how my spine turns out!
- roozbeh18 3y agoyea worked for me till I hit 40
- anon84873628 3y agoYou're living the dream
- edgefield 3y agoI thought about trying this exact same idea for my indoor bike. Posture is also key for cycling.
- melx 3y agoI guess you mean road cycling. I would advise to get bike fitting service, it's not that expensive and will save you a lot in long term.
- pulpfictional 3y agoYou should be standing, not sitting. Sitting is quite detrimental. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l5I4M8BMlE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l5I4M8BMlE
- ramraj07 3y agoStanding can be detrimental too if you do it all day: > But that doesn’t mean you should stand all day, either. “Repeated, long-term exposure to standing also has been implicated in the development of serious health problems,” Chambers told us over email. She said that standing for the majority of your workday—as people in retail, manufacturing, and health care do—could lead to degenerative joint damage, muscle injury, and circulatory diseases such as venous disorders, increased stroke risk, and carotid atherosclerosis. So fixed-height standing desk setups—like many DIY kinds—aren’t ideal either if you’re spending long hours working at them. https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-standing-desk/ https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-standing-des...
- pulpfictional 3y agoThe article does not back that claim with a citation. One should be active and mobile every day, in my opinion.
- throwaway290 3y agoCan be standing without being mobile, but yes standing makes it easier to be mobile
- kmoser 3y agoAn adjustable height standing desk is the best of all worlds: you can stand or sit. You can even be mobile by getting a treadmill desk.
- progbits 3y agoThis seems like as good place to ask as any: Kinect and similar cameras can do posture estimation. Anyone tried that for bad posture alerts?
- _neil 3y agoI haven’t tried it yet but have been thinking about it. It seems like you’d want front/side views to detect leaning. Kinects would work but you could also use old iPhones with ARKit or any camera connected to mediapipe.
- ToJans 3y agoIf anyone's interested: I wrote a small free app that runs completely client-side in the browser via your webcam, and gives an audible alert if your posture changes: https://ppp.virtualsaleslab.com https://ppp.virtualsaleslab.com
- bckr 3y agoThanks for sharing this. The physical therapists I’ve talked to have been very clear that staying in the same position for too long is a primary driver of pain. So, I’m not sure if this is a whole solution.
- sshine 3y agoI always shifted position every 15 minutes as a reflex. Sometimes I sit on one leg, other times both legs, other times normally. So there is no “correct” height for me; detecting a slump would require more thorough analysis than mere height in seat.
- therealdrag0 3y agoI recently heard someone in the space say recent evidence says posture is mostly irrelevant to back pain, it’s at least not root cause, tho maybe an aggregator?
- hanniabu 3y agoMuscle imbalance and tightness is a large cause of back pain and sitting at a desk and slouching contributes to muscle imbalance and tightness
- therealdrag0 3y agoBut is it more the sitting at the desk or more the slouching? How is slouching contributing to the muscle imbalance and tightness? And if you otherwise do counteracting stretching and strengthening does the slouching matter?
- dghughes 3y agoMy job for many years had me walking a lot. Up and down stairs often dozens of times a day a double set of stairs so two story equivalent. Plus crawling around running cable on floors or in ceilings. Lifting equipment from 50 to 300 pounds (with assistance). Now I'm at a desk and two years on I often catch myself shaped like an S. Engrossed in a problem my posture has become bad. Plus I haven't done any exercise in two years so my muscle tone and cardiovascular has has never been worse. Last week whatever I did or whatever series of events led up to it my right shoulder just exploded in pain. My clavicle at my neck was popping, my muscles felt like they were being pulled downward by an invisible meat hook stuck in my shoulder. I took a day off, took some anti-inflammatory pain killers. But it took a good week to get over it. I blame my poor posture and being desk-bound but my poor health also had a part in it.
- grugagag 3y agoYes, being desk bound has nasty effects on the body. But proper desk hygiene can mitigate a lot of it except for the lack of movement which has to be compensated somehow: daily 1 hour walking or other type of workout.
- scrapcode 3y agoAlthough I never finished it, the first couple handful of pages in Deskbound: Standing Up to a Sitting World really frame sitting as a pretty scary activity [0]. I still fail to set reminders and catch myself sitting for prolonged periods, but it has gotten better. [0] https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/22557522 https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/22557522
- mmsnberbar66 3y agoI got a monitor that gives me rest reminders every X minutes. Runs reliably regardless of input (console, PC), no need to do it on your OS.
- bluehorseray 3y agoMaybe I'm wrong, but I find the discussion around "reminding" yourself to have good posture off-base. It's like saying that if you want larger biceps, you should walk around with your biceps flexed all day. I feel like the important part is strengthening your postural muscles, and then just living normally
- mnky9800n 3y agoHow do you recommend strengthening your postural muscles
- __MatrixMan__ 3y agoCore and back stuff. Dead lifts, planks, rows, climbing.
- CPLX 3y agoIt doesn’t work that way. I mean you’re not wrong, being stronger is certainly relevant to being able to hold posture. But I got myself up to lifting quite large amounts of weight and it had literally no effect on posture at all, at some point or another you have to also change your habits.
- 01100011 3y agoEach person is different, but for me weight training helped a bit with back pain and a little bit of posture, but fixing my posture is a completely separate(and ongoing) activity. For me, good posture starts with awareness. I have poor proprioception so unless I see myself hunched in a mirror I'm not aware I'm doing it. I am a very narrow-focused person though. The other part of posture is just working at it long enough to build a connection to those important muscles. Teaching someone to have good posture is like teaching someone to wiggle their ears. Some people were born with that control and other people just don't even know what to do, mentally, to activate those signals. Final part is to adjust what feels 'right' so that keeping your chest out more, your head back, spinal curves not too far in either direction, etc, all feels natural. I fight with the feeling that I look like a jerk when I'm just holding proper posture. That all said, I think focusing squarely on your lats and lower traps can be a good starting point for folks looking to fix their posture. Yes, it's more than that, but it was one thing that helped, in addition to everything above, for me.
- mbustamanter 3y agoSlightly related: Does anyone else can't concentrate for long periods of time while sitting in front of a computer? I have mild scoliosis and a fear of varicocele (if that's relevant), and fortunately my work involves implementation of numerical algorithms/problem solving that I can first sketch on a notebook while laying on my bed and finally be coded sitting -on a rush-. Same with reading books. I'm thinking of purchasing a one-sided divan sofa and put it next to my desktop.
- Liquix 3y agoA height adjustable desk is worth looking into if you don't already have one. Alternating between sitting and standing every 30-60 minutes is great for posture fatigue.
- numpad0 3y agoI’ve heard that some people even attempt to maximize walking time when important deadlines are close, because putting on serious faces and pretending to be productive at their desk is anecdotally so counterproductive to them. I think there are much to be discovered in where our creativity come from.
- syntheweave 3y agoI have a similar mild scoliosis/desk avoidance thing. But what I've found is that it's not related to pain(I can game for hours and hours in a chair), it's more of a energy/bloodflow/breathing issue. Lying prone or supine is actually a good posture for relaxing enough to think carefully. Sitting upright induces attention and focus to immediate tasks but it can also produce woozy idis haze right after eating. My favorite setup, overall, is floor sitting with a low desk. This lets the posture shift around moment-to-moment, including fully upright seiza type positions and supine or prone positions.
- throwaway2990 3y agoI tried those expensive chairs and sitting up straight and it gave me back pains. After I read a study about slouching being better for you I got a gaming chair and switch between slouching and standing and have no more back pain and can concentrate for longer periods. Posture is over rated.
- mmsnberbar66 3y agoStudy link?
- throwaway2990 3y agoI can’t find the original link I read but found this. https://inews.co.uk/news/health/slouching-better-than-sitting-straight-health-effects-new-study-research-293212 https://inews.co.uk/news/health/slouching-better-than-sittin... Alternating between slouching and standing has had a positive impact on me. About 2 years into it working from home and I sleep better and haven’t had back pain since. (Prior to this I had an ergo chair and would alternate between sitting and standing.)
- 01100011 3y agoYou're in a local maximum. Getting to a better state will take effort and cause discomfort but you'll be better off in the long run. I was like you once. I grew up shrimped out in front of a computer and have a hereditary hump in my thoracic spine. Good posture hurt like hell. It was a process that took a few years and a lot of work. Stuart McGill is a good starting point.
- throwawayixnay 3y ago[flagged]
- DuckFeathers 3y agoFrederick Matthias Alexander (of the Alexander Technique fame) used 3 mirrors to diagnose and fix his bad posture leading to vocal rsi, so I am certain that this is a great idea. It would be nice if someone came up with a more smarter solution for this.
- fswd 3y agoHa, I've done this before. To boost my confidence. It actually works. The mirror however is in the closet, maybe I should bring it out again.
- mmsnberbar66 3y agoI had this idea before, and I appreciate the reminder to actually do it.
- pbiggar 3y agoI've had terrible posture for years and have tried lots of ways to fix it. After finally going to a good Physical Therapist, I'm finally making great progress that people have commented on. The problem is that you can't just put yourself in a better posture. You can fix workplace ergonomics (and should!), but you have tight muscles and weak muscles and attempting to just "sit up straight" doesn't work and may actively be harmful. For example, lots of people told me to sit up straight as a kid, which resulted in my tilting my chin up to give the appearance of sitting it straighter, but it actually made my posture much worse by rounding my spine more. So to solve it, see a professional. They will give you exercises to fix the muscles that are pulling your spine out of alignment. The exercises will loosen tight muscles, give you more range of motion, strengthen weak muscles like your core, and in a few months will get you feeling much better and standing much straighter.
- abhaynayar 3y agoI recently used Alfred app to turn my old Android phone into a CCTV when I realized there was a huge difference between how I perceived myself versus how I looked in photos/videos. One of the biggest things I improved on because of that was my posture. Over time, I kept reminding and correcting myself, and even though my mistakes were subtle, now my shoulders are relaxed and not closing forwards, and I am not hunching over. Still need to keep reminding, but less often. (Apart from the health perspective, it makes a huge difference in how good you look and what personality you exude.)
- boondoggle16 3y agoCould you elaborate on this? It sounds interesting to me, because I have also noticed a difference in how I perceive myself, vs the reality of photos and videos. I have a variable voice, for example, and I've considered training myself to use a single voice type instead. I could project a deeper and louder voice, and probably gain a lot of social status by doing so.
- musTY8 3y agoHaving an optimal desk setup placement would nullify the need for posture awareness checks.
- JoelMcCracken 3y agoI bought one of these. It’s helped a good bit. I also bought the necklace attachment, much better than the sticky pads Upright GO-2 | Posture Corrector Trainer, Discreet & Strapless for Men & Women - Sync & Track Progress Via App (GO-2) https://a.co/d/cdEdaRC https://a.co/d/cdEdaRC
- sublinear 3y agoMirrors encourage all kinds of positivity. Facial posture too! No more RBF. The people around me have noticed a "mood improvement", but actually it's just self-awareness of how I look.
- swah 3y agoYeah I wish I had a labrador face.
- asadm 3y agoOne interesting app I found was https://apps.apple.com/us/app/posture-pal-improve-alert/id1590316152 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/posture-pal-improve-alert/id15... It detects posture via Airpods and tries to correct you.
- savrajsingh 3y agothe best way to improve something is to see/measure/track it :)
- davidguetta 3y agoI'm just going to put this here, unafraid of the mighty downvotes: https://leangains.com/fuckarounditis/ https://leangains.com/fuckarounditis/ Posture is bullshit. People have back pain because they are weak in their back who have no muscle. Just get stronger with real physical exercises (done safely) and you'll be fine.
- Mawr 3y agoIt's somewhat amusing that the best exercise is just "repeatedly lift heavy rock off ground".
- davidguetta 3y agoyeah and don't forget "walk"
- grugagag 3y agoPeople have poor muscular tone because of poor postre and bad habits in the first place. There are people who never work out and are just fine, have no back pain but do have good posture and proper gait. And there are people who work out with incorrect posture. They have more problems than all, so posture and good habits are very important.
- jorisboris 3y agoSlightly related, I sometimes open an empty meeting with camera on to see my face reflected to me. It surprising how often I catch myself yawning, leaning on my hand, picking my nose, looking grumpy, ...
- ensocode 3y agoThis is a cool low-tech way! Have you heard about Sitapp (https://sitapp.app/ https://sitapp.app/)? It's a webapp that utilizes your webcam to correct your posture. Do you maybe know similar apps for linux? I completely agree with the previous comments about the importance of changing positions frequently to prevent the discomfort that comes with a static posture. If you're interested in delving deeper into this subject, I highly recommend Eric Soehngen's insightful book, "Death By Sitting: Why We Need A Movement Revolution." It's an nice read Finally, for those looking for alternative options, I've found that treadmill desks are an excellent choice. They offer a good mix of productivity and physical activity.
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