ELI5: Why Does Bad Posture Feel So Good (And Is It Really That Bad)?
Content Idea: "Posture SOS: Is a Weak Back, Weak Core, or Something Else the True Culprit? (ELI5)"
Explanation: Lots of people are confused about what's really causing their poor posture. You might hear comments like, "Actually, your back is weak, so your posture suffers," or "Isn't it because your core is weak?" This confusion is pretty common. People wonder if it's mainly due to weak back muscles, a lack of core strength, too much sitting, or just a bad habit they can't break.
An ELI5 explanation that breaks down these factors would be super helpful. It could cover:
- What "core" actually means in simple terms (it's not just your abs—think deeper stabilizers, obliques, and lower back muscles).
- How weak back muscles (like the erector spinae) can lead to a rounded back.
- How a weak or inactive core fails to support the spine, often resulting in slouching or over-arching.
- The idea of a "vicious cycle": poor habits or long periods of static positions can cause muscle weakness or imbalances, which then reinforce poor posture and can lead to pain, making it even harder to maintain good posture.
- Sometimes, it's not just weakness but muscle tightness in other areas (like the chest or hamstrings) that pulls the body out of alignment.
- Simple, actionable insights on how addressing both strength and movement awareness is key, rather than just trying to "sit up straight" without tackling the underlying issues.
This topic tackles a common health concern, demystifies popular fitness terms, and offers a more holistic understanding than simplistic advice, making it likely to resonate with a wide audience.
Target Audience: General public, office workers, students, individuals with back or neck pain, fitness enthusiasts looking to improve their form, and anyone who has been told they have "bad posture" and is unsure how to fix it.
Origin Reddit Post
r/explainlikeimfive
ELI5: Why is it comfortable to sit in positions that are bad for you? Why do we frequently have bad posture?
Posted by u/shazam1394•06/01/2025
Top Comments
u/UnKossef
There's no evolutionary advantage to grandma not being in constant pain though, so sit up straight, eat your broccoli, and help your grandma with her luggage.
u/Prior-Flamingo-1378
That would heavily depend on which period you are referring. Eg in the Paleolithic era life expectancy at 15yo was another 39years. So not 70 but certainly not 40 either.
u/joepierson123
There's no evidence that one posture is bad for you and another posture is good for you, your body adapts to the conditions you give it.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31366294/
There ar
u/themurhk
There’s no position that is “bad” for you to sit in.
It potentially becomes “bad” and pain provoking when you spend long, extended periods there. Same thing with posture. We benefit from m
u/Meechgalhuquot
"The best position is your next position" is the way I've heard it put
u/Altair05
Bad posture doesn't kill grandma just make her miserable. Evolution doesn't care about her misery.
u/AlbiTheDargon
Your "core" can be defined to include muscles that are technically on your back, but part of the whole area that keeps you stable and upright.
u/AvEptoPlerIe
There are certainly other examples of this. Even ancient and prehistoric humans benefitted from elderly members of their social groups in numerous ways, and would go FAR out of their way to h
u/Alexis_J_M
We have menopause because Grandma is worth more to the tribe alive and passing on her knowledge than dying trying to give birth to one last child.
u/Ketzer_Jefe
Ignore every single child that died during birth, every mother who died giving birth, and every infant death up to 1 year of age, and the average life expectancy shoots up to like 70 years. I
u/Musclesturtle
This is incorrect.
Reddit loves to parrot the assumption that genes and traits only matter up until you reproduce.
This is not quite right.
The phrase "It takes a village" exists for a
u/themurhk
There’s no position that is “bad” for you to sit in.
It potentially becomes “bad” and pain provoking when you spend long, extended periods there. Same thing with posture. We benefit from m
u/Chii
dont worry, the new AI will write COBOL just as unmaintainably as previous COBOL programmers.
u/paullywog77
Wow, super interesting. I've always had "bad" posture sitting at work all day, but never had any issues. After my chair broke, I tried getting an ergonomic chair but it gave me back issues fo
u/Ketzer_Jefe
I'm more pointing out that overall death during childbirth and infant death heavily skews the data to misrepresent what the actual life expectancy was. I don't have hard numbers.
u/alphafalcon
In my experience "lots" of commenting, not "good" commenting.
"Setting the variable to 4" is useless.
"3 is best practice according to XYZ, but 4 works better because of ABC" is a comment t
u/Narezzz
Sitting in certain postures for too long can lead to weakened and tight muscles, which causes imbalances (pain). I would call that bad.
u/duuchu
Grandma in the animal kingdom can be a couple years or even months old depending on the species.
Humans live long as hell because of modern technologies
u/Musclesturtle
This is incorrect.
Reddit loves to parrot the assumption that genes and traits only matter up until you reproduce.
This is not quite right.
The phrase "It takes a village" exists for a
u/joepierson123
There's no evidence that one posture is bad for you and another posture is good for you, your body adapts to the conditions you give it.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31366294/
There ar
u/MrCrash
Comfort = your muscles doing the least amount of work. Your body is programmed to seek out these positions because technically they make you require less nutrition (a tiny amount less, and re
u/Hauwke
We also lived pretty long before all that too. It's not like cavemen were dropping dead due to a condition called 30th birthday. Sure, average lifespan was only 30 something in those days. Bu
u/Paavo_Nurmi
Life expectancy in 1500 was 48 years old, but that doesn't mean 95% of the population died by age 50 like some ancient version of Logan's Run. The high infant mortality rate really brings tha
u/NickConnor365
Not so fast ;)
Genes that keep grandma around to help can be selected for. Especially in social species.
u/Ketzer_Jefe
I'm more pointing out that overall death during childbirth and infant death heavily skews the data to misrepresent what the actual life expectancy was. I don't have hard numbers.
u/Sorryifimanass
Right the key is to keep changing positions. The best position for your posture is the next position.
u/elnorath
I’ve heard that the best one is where you switch often. Emphasizing movement instead of being still for hours in one position.
u/Prior-Flamingo-1378
That would heavily depend on which period you are referring. Eg in the Paleolithic era life expectancy at 15yo was another 39years. So not 70 but certainly not 40 either.
u/MrCrash
Comfort = your muscles doing the least amount of work. Your body is programmed to seek out these positions because technically they make you require less nutrition (a tiny amount less, and re
u/Cogwheel
Today's version is COBOL programmers.
u/rock9y
It’s comfortable because it requires the least amount of efforts. And turns out it’s not really that bad for you.
u/Opposite_Security842
They're invaluable! Keep them kicking at all costs
u/DeSteph-DeCurry
it’s the other way around actually. your posture is bad because your back is weak. bad posture is a symptom, not the cause
u/UnKossef
There's no evolutionary advantage to grandma not being in constant pain though, so sit up straight, eat your broccoli, and help your grandma with her luggage.
u/DeSteph-DeCurry
it’s the other way around actually. your posture is bad because your back is weak. bad posture is a symptom, not the cause
u/paullywog77
Wow, super interesting. I've always had "bad" posture sitting at work all day, but never had any issues. After my chair broke, I tried getting an ergonomic chair but it gave me back issues fo
u/VoilaVoilaWashington
Alternately, "leave this on 4, any other value breaks the login screen for some reason lol"
u/Sorryifimanass
Right the key is to keep changing positions. The best position for your posture is the next position.
u/Alexis_J_M
We have menopause because Grandma is worth more to the tribe alive and passing on her knowledge than dying trying to give birth to one last child.
u/Meechgalhuquot
"The best position is your next position" is the way I've heard it put
u/Cogwheel
Today's version is COBOL programmers.
u/macgruff
In general and in specific, humans are weak. Our spines especially. I say this because though we excel at pattern recognition and ingenious with using tools and things to get things done,
u/elnorath
I’ve heard that the best one is where you switch often. Emphasizing movement instead of being still for hours in one position.
u/Gnomio1
You jest, but AI-written code tends to have good commenting.
Whether the commends align with the code execution is another matter, but it’s trying harder than real people to make things read
u/AvEptoPlerIe
There are certainly other examples of this. Even ancient and prehistoric humans benefitted from elderly members of their social groups in numerous ways, and would go FAR out of their way to h
u/Opposite_Security842
They're invaluable! Keep them kicking at all costs
u/Ketzer_Jefe
Ignore every single child that died during birth, every mother who died giving birth, and every infant death up to 1 year of age, and the average life expectancy shoots up to like 70 years. I
u/NickConnor365
Not so fast ;)
Genes that keep grandma around to help can be selected for. Especially in social species.
u/gatamosa
Wait, I thought bad posture was also because your core is garbage.
It’s both?!! Jk
I guess if your core is weak, most likely the back will be too.
u/EmuRemarkable1099
It’s not really that a particular posture is “bad”. There’s decent research showing that. It’s really more like static postures (or just not moving much at all) is bad for your joints and mus