When slouching creeps back in
Dr Nicola Tik
A week of late nights, a cold, a deadline that swallowed everything else, and suddenly you catch yourself slumped over your laptop again. It can feel a bit disheartening when sitting tall had started to come more easily. This happens to a lot of people, and it says far more about the week you have had than about your progress.
When you are tired, unwell or stretched thin, your brain leans on whatever is most familiar and takes the least effort. Newer habits are usually the first to slip, because they still need a little more attention than patterns you have had for years.
Slumping when you are worn out is also partly your body looking for an easy resting position. That is a normal response to a demanding week, and it is nothing to feel guilty about.
Research on how habits form found that missing the odd day did not noticeably set people back. What mattered was coming back to it. So a slouchy few days is better thought of as a pause than a restart.
If you are unwell, it is okay to rest. You can pick things back up when you feel more like yourself.
When energy is low, something familiar is much easier to return to than something new. You could try going back to one video from earlier in your programme, or one you have found helpful before. Knowing what to expect takes the effort out of starting again.
If even five minutes feels like a lot right now, the 30-second videos in the VIDA library are a gentle way back in.
Over time, you may notice when slouching tends to creep in. It might be late on a Thursday, after back-to-back meetings, or during a heavy stretch at work. Knowing your own pattern means you can plan for it, for example by keeping a favourite video ready for the afternoons that usually catch you out.