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The Psychological and Physiological Effects of Good Posture

Rannoch pointed to this article over on Facebook - How You Can Become More Powerful by Literally Standing Tall

More impressively, expansive postures also altered the participants’ hormone levels. Using salivary samples, Carney and colleagues found that expansive postures led individuals to experience elevated testosterone (T) and decreased cortisol (C). This neuroendocrine profile of High T and Low C has been consistently linked to such outcomes as disease resistance and leadership abilities. Although past research has found that occupying a powerful role leads to expansive postures, Carney et al.’s paper is the first to investigate the reciprocal relationship – the causal effect of posture on the mental experience of power.

 We talk a lot about hormones and the importance of minimising chronically high cortisol.  The implication of this is that you can consciously have an impact on limiting this hormone simply by adopting a more confident posture.   Make yourself bigger, more cocky looking.....and you will be even on an hormonal level.


Interesting stuff - expansive, confident posture has impacts on your behaviour and your hormonal state.    This is body/mind stuff again and also ties in to the piece on Posture and Attractiveness that I highlighted last month. 
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Tomas said…
This is interesting.
I suspect that my thyroid is not working properly (being a hardgainer). I've been trying to research multiple approaches to improve it, and one of the fields is the correct posture. Often, I tend to literally slip into a crouching position, especially at a PC. If I assume a correct position (E. Gokhale style), muscles around the thyroid naturally relax and I feel relaxed as well, plus more confident and focused.
So I reckon that not only hormones determine how you act, it also can work the other way around. Just maybe when your neck muscles are not contracted for longer periods, it your body takes that as a sign of danger, releases cortisol, etc...
Now following this line of thinking you may wonder which was first, hen or egg, hormone issues or posture? :}
January 5, 2011 at 8:00 AM
Unknown said…
I always feel better when my posture is good, back straight, and no anterior or posterior chain dominance, just a balance
January 5, 2011 at 8:31 AM
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