Becoming more conscious of your sitting and standing posture can be hard work, but it is certainly worth doing.

There are countless health benefits of good posture: better breathing, back relief, better digestion and circulation… they’re all the benefits of our supportive chairs.

But maintaining proper posture has a host of other benefits, too. Here are some more reasons to make good posture a priority.

Good posture:

1. Makes you happier

Have you ever heard that smiling, even when you don’t feel like it, will help you feel better? The act of smiling sets off a chain reaction in your brain, releasing feel-good hormones that make you happy. Standing and sitting upright do something similar. When you hunch over and hang your head, that tells your brain you’re depressed. Pulling your shoulders back, lifting your face, and opening your chest to find an upright posture helps you feel more optimistic.

2. Boosts self-confidence

Good posture certainly helps other people perceive you as a confident person. It makes you look poised and self-assured. According to some studies, maintaining good posture can actually help you feel more confident, too!

3. Protects you from criminals

Really! It can take someone less than 7 seconds to decide whether you’re an easy target or not. Psychologists have studied how criminals choose who to attack and rob, finding that those who hunched over were seen as vulnerable. To be a hard target, you need to walk with your chin up, spine straight and shoulders back, looking around, taking in your surroundings.

4. Sparks creativity

Feeling more confident can in turn unlock our creative potential. Again, think of how closed off your body is when it’s slouching. Hunching over was a way to protect ourselves from predators! It was a posture we assumed to protect our organs when we felt weak. When we open up our bodies, the feelings of power that arise help you be more innovative and willing to take risks.

5. Makes you look thinner

You know how they say the camera adds ten pounds? Standing straight has the opposite effect. When your spine rounds unnaturally, that can create the appearance of a thicker middle. Stand or sit up tall, and lengthen your frame – the pounds distribute more evenly and make you look more slender.

6. You’ll get a better workout

Good posture carries into everything you do, meaning you’ll have better form when you run, swim, do yoga, or do any sort of exercise!

The benefits of good posture are virtually endless. You can take steps every day to help improve yours. Stretching, for example, helps loosen your muscles and lengthen your spine. You can even improve your posture without much work – something as simple as switching out your current office chair for a chair that can guide your vertebrae into alignment and keep your spine healthy through movement can go a long way toward keeping you healthy.