Didn’t everyone have a mom who insisted you sit up straight … good posture and all that? I did. All of my friends did too. I always hated that, because sitting up really straight has never been comfortable to me. No, I didn’t get used to it, and no, it didn’t get better when my muscles got stronger (presumably from all that sitting up straight). I gave up sitting up straight as soon as I was able. My neck and back have never hated me for it.

While I normally don’t jump all over every medical or science study that comes out and get all “rah rah” about it, this one I have to get a little excited about:

Your mother probably told you, as her mother told her: sit up straight. Whether at table, in class or at work we have always been told that sitting stiff-backed and upright is good for our bones, our posture, our digestion, our alertness and our general air of looking as if we are plugged into the world.

Now research suggests that we would be far better off slouching and slumping.

The perfect angle? 135 degrees … as represented by the green line on the protractor below:

Vindicated at last. I will now return to my usual slouching position on the couch … right after I email this news story to my mother.