Lift Your Head, Lengthen Your Life
The role of posture (and parrots) in good health and well being
When Andrea and I bought our home thirty-plus years ago, a dour couple who lived several homes south of us unfailingly walked their two dogs morning and night. One day, in a casual conversation with the woman, I mentioned how much I enjoyed seeing the wild parrots in our neighborhood. Most cities don’t have brilliant green birds flying around, roosting in tall trees, and I find this charming…although I’ve met plenty of people who think otherwise.
She looked at me with incredulous disbelief. Parrots? Much to my surprise and hers, she had never seen parrots. Am I sure? I thought, “You walk twice a day, every day; how could you not have heard or seen these loud, brightly colored birds?” So the next time my husband and I were out walking, I took a picture of a pair of these elusive creatures and texted it to her to corroborate my story.
That episode has been in the back of my mind for nearly thirty years. I often reflect on it, primarily because I found it sad that these two people lived in an idyllic environment and were seemingly unaware of its treasure. Streets lined with 100-year-old Oak, Camphor, and Sycamore trees. Palm trees that were planted for the 1932 Olympics reaching to the sky. Authentic Craftsman and Spanish-style homes from the 1890s, 1910s and 1920s. Leafy neighborhoods are shared with a wide variety of bird species, including the parrots, as well as squirrels, raccoons, skunks, and the occasional possums. (The only animals my cat and I could do without are the wily coyotes!)
That couple has haunted me because I couldn’t understand how they missed what was right before them, day in and day out…for years. I often wondered if their downward gaze contributed to their sullen personalities. I became preoccupied with looking up and appreciating the beauty around me, as I firmly believe it feeds the soul.
Now, as I’m getting older, it’s occurring to me that this musing has stuck with me for good reason. I recently stumbled across a study showing that simply walking with hands clasped behind the back, which raises the head, changed brain patterns. That’s incredible! This got me thinking about the role posture plays in aging and why I have intuitively been fixated on looking up suddenly clicked.
Posture is an often neglected aspect of health that has far-reaching physical, mental, and emotional consequences. Although our stance naturally slumps as we age due to bone and muscle loss, in today’s world of long hours on screens and devices, our heads drop, our shoulders roll forward, and our spines curve much earlier than they should. I believe this issue needs significant attention.
Neurologically
The impact of posture—especially the forward thrust of the head—on the brain and cognitive function is astonishing. How you sit, stand, and walk can fundamentally alter your neurochemistry. Posture can significantly change the brain's activity levels, influencing mood, attention, and mental processing.
The brain areas most affected by posture include the frontal cortex (associated with decision-making), the limbic system and salience network (emotion regulation), and the cerebellum (motor control and balance.) Therefore, it makes perfect sense that good posture is associated with being alert and having positive, happy emotions. Furthermore, studies show that an upright stance is linked to higher cognitive performance with enhanced focus, alertness, and processing speed.
Conversely, poor posture can increase stress and negative feelings by altering the sensory feedback from the body’s muscles and joints. It can also increase muscle tension and pain, further impacting brain activity.
Brain activity and neuroplasticity are critical to maintaining a healthy brain. With close to 40% of people over the age of 55 predicted to be afflicted with some form of dementia, working on posture as one piece of the cognitive pie is a simple no-brainer.
Physically
The cascading effects of posture on physical health may partly explain the plethora of ailments that burden people as they age. Pain in the neck, shoulder, back, hips, and knees are just the most obvious. But the list extends to conditions that aren’t seemingly connected to posture… but indeed are.
Slouching can lead to digestive issues such as heartburn and acid reflux. Poor posture can make it difficult to breathe deeply, resulting in shortness of breath, dizziness, and headaches. It can also decrease range of motion and balance, increasing the risk of falling. This old-age slump can even increase pressure on the bladder, leading to stress incontinence.
My first line of defense is to have a heightened awareness of my posture throughout the day, which helps me adjust how I stand and what I do, such as taking breaks and changing positions regularly. I spend significant time strengthening my core (which aligns the spine), as well as my back, shoulders, glutes, and hamstrings. Plus, I do full range of motion moves and stretches. This Healthline article has excellent exercises you can do at home and is a good place to start if you need a few ideas.
Spiritually
I’ve always been fascinated by cathedrals’ soaring ceilings, which are the hallmark architectural features of many sacred buildings. The vastness of the space is intended to create a sense of awe and reverence, symbolically lifting thoughts and minds toward heaven and shifting the focus from the physical to the spiritual realm.
My husband and son feel this sense of divine connection in the mountains; I feel it when I marvel at the parrots at the tippy top of the tall trees. There is great wisdom handed down through the millennia to look up.
Time to look up
Essentially, how you hold your head, shoulders, and back can influence many aspects of your health, well-being, and, ultimately, quality of life as you age. The good news is that, for most of us, our posture is completely within our control through mindfulness, movement, and exercise. It’s at the forefront of my mind throughout the day to live well, age great.
