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Posture and Its Effect on Vision

Most people are aware that having bad posture could lead to physical problems later on. What you do not know is that posture can affect your vision.

Forward Head Posture

Based on Program for Better Vision, studies conducted reveal that postural imbalances are highly associated with poor vision. If you are sitting in front of the computer all day and you no longer have a perfect 20/20 vision, chances are your posture has affected your visual acuity more than the computer screen. In relation to this, your daily work routine could have led to your development of forward head posture.

Before the age of technology dawned on human civilization, people walk with their ears positioned directly on top of their shoulders. With computers as the primary workstation, many people have adopted a posture where the ears are forward the shoulder, known as the forward head posture.

When you unconsciously assume the forward head posture, the head adds 4.5 kgs in weight for each inch it sits forward from the shoulders. The body has to adjust to this imbalance by forcing the upper back and neck muscles to work double time to stop the head from falling onto your upper body. As a result, pressure on the nerves at the foundation of the skull is increased.

Effects

Exactly how does this posture affect vision? When the photoreceptor cells in your eyes are stimulated by light, the signal is transmitted from the optic nerve to the visual cortex, where the information is interpreted. The processed signal is then forwarded to the spinal cord and to the rest of the body.

If you have a slouched posture, the connections between your eyes and the rest of the body are affected and over time, the condition can lead to decreased circulation, fatigue, and blurred vision. When vision has been affected by postural imbalances, the condition can be aggravated by moving the neck forward to clearly see a distant object.

Before you know it, you already have the worst eyesight compounded by your poor posture.

Nowadays, forward head posture is a condition that affects more than 66 percent of the population. Other than blurred vision, the imbalance can lead to headache and mental disorders.

Correction

Being responsible for your posture is the first step to healing. When standing up, make sure that your weight is evenly distributed. In this position, you avoid unconsciously slouching. On the other hand, when sitting down, position a part of your buttocks close to the chair’s backrest to keep your body upright.

People may think that posture has nothing to do with blurred eyesight. However, studies suggest that postural imbalances are linked to poor vision. As most of your time is spent solving company problems in front of the computer, you are most likely to develop forward head posture. This condition can gradually damage synaptic connections between the eyes and the rest of the body, leading to poor vision. So stop blaming the computers and take full responsibility of your posture now.