DESPITE my best efforts to be ever aware of my posture, a nine-to-five desk job means that, like many people, I tend to slowly wilt over the keyboard with each email I send.
I wouldn't say my posture is dire, but there's definitely room for improvement. I'm particularly conscious of this in light of all the negative effects of slouching, which include pains along the neck, back and shoulders, as well as the potential of long-term musculoskeletal disorders.
With 80 per cent of people in the UK likely to suffer from back pain at some point in their life, you wonder how much of this is down to the fact that we spend so much time slumped over a desk. Good posture does more than just look good and keep your back feeling healthy – it's also said to improve productivity and increase your overall wellbeing.
As my mother – forever reminding me to sit up straight – is (sadly) not with me in the workplace, I settled for trying the next best thing to get my posture back on track: the Upright Go, a wearable tracker that's designed to help you maintain a straight back.
What exactly is an Upright Go?
It's a small device that is unobtrusive when you stick it to your upper back. One click of the button and you're good to go.
The device has two settings; tracking and training. In tracking, if you start to slouch, it vibrates until you've returned to perfect posture. In training, the device is silent, and logs how long you've been either slouching or sitting pretty – info you can then evaluate on the app on your phone.
Does it work?
It's a simple concept, and well-executed. When I first put on the Upright Go, it started doing its job immediately – the second it vibrated, I'd immediately sit up tall. You're meant to switch between tracking and training but I can't say I was bothered with this too much. To be brutally honest, I wanted to be bullied into sitting up straight by this demon device, not spend my time looking at stats.
After a couple of weeks wearing the device (admittedly not all the time), small things did begin to irritate me. It's so sensitive that it will go off on a vibration spree whenever you're not perfectly upright. This is fine when you're sitting at your desk, but less than ideal for the times when you bend over to pick something up or tie your shoelaces.
After one particularly arduous day of trying to maintain my posture, I began to notice that my upper back was actually aching a little bit from the effort. This sent me into what can only be described as an existential spiral: Was I sitting up wrong? Have I been doing it incorrectly the whole time? What does it all mean?
But although my relationship with the Upright Go has descended into love-hate territory, it has succeeded in making me more mindful of my posture. Even if I'm not actually wearing it, I can definitely say that I've been thinking so much more about sitting up straight. Let's just hope I'm doing it right.
The Upright Go is available for £69.99 from www.uprightpose.com
