What sitting tall gives you back
Dr Nicola Tik
You get to the end of a long call and realise you are still sitting comfortably tall, without having thought about it once. Moments like that are easy to miss, but they matter. Noticing what sitting tall feels like for you is one of the simplest ways to help the habit stay.
Habits tend to last when they feel rewarding in the moment, not just worthwhile in theory. Research on habit formation suggests that people who enjoy a new behaviour, or notice something good about it, build a stronger habit than people doing it purely because they think they ought to.
Sitting tall can easily slip into the “ought to” category. Spotting what it actually gives you shifts it into something you choose because it feels better.
Everyone’s experience is a little different, but there are a few things many people pick up on.
Breathing feels easier. When you sit tall, your ribcage has more room to move. Some studies suggest breathing is a little more efficient in an upright position than a slumped one, and many people describe it as feeling less cramped.
Feeling more alert. Small studies have found that people sitting upright report feeling more energetic and less flat than people sitting slumped. The evidence is still modest, but it matches what plenty of people notice during a long afternoon.
Showing up differently. Some people find that sitting tall on a video call or in a meeting helps them feel more present and engaged. It might be subtle, and that is fine.
You might notice something completely different, like your neck feeling easier at the end of the day or simply liking how it feels. Your own reasons count most.
These benefits are easy to overlook because they are small and quiet. You could try picking one ordinary moment this week, like after a call or at the end of a focused task, and asking yourself how you feel. Is your breathing easy? Do you feel more switched on than usual?
You do not need to write anything down. Just noticing is enough to help your brain link sitting tall with feeling good.
Over time, the reasons you started with often matter less than the reasons you keep going. If you find something sitting tall gives you, that becomes your own reminder, and it tends to last far longer than an alert on your phone.
Your weekly check-in in VIDA shows how your progress is building, which can be a nice reminder of how far the habit has come.