Why you should sit on the floor more often

Ever since I was a child, I’ve had a tendency to sit on the floor. I still do it every time I visit friends and when I have guests over. While my closest friends are used to it, many people often give me a funny look and ask me why I choose to sit on the floor when there’s a perfectly comfortable sofa or chair to sit on. I don’t know, it just feels nicer to sit on the floor, it makes me feel more grounded. Turns out, my weird habit is not as crazy as they may think; experts say sitting on the floor is actually good for your health and longevity.

Taking a look at the Japanese

According to Blue Zones founder Dan Buettner, it’s not bad to take a look at the lifestyle of Japanese people - more specifically, the people in Okinawa. They often have very little furniture in their homes and therefore spend most of their sedentary time of the floor. And this contributes to the fact that they are among the people who live the longest and healthiest lives. 

“The longest-lived women in the history of the world lived in Okinawa,” said Buettner in an interview with Well&Good. “I spent two days with a 103-year-old woman and saw her get up and down from the floor 30 or 40 times, so that’s like 30 or 40 squats done daily.”

It makes sense, when you think about it: if a woman is able to repeatedly stand up from a seated position, every day of her life, even at old age, she must be in much better health than most elderly women in Western society.

The Sitting-Rising test

Buettners theory is supported by many other researchers, who claim that the ability to stand up from a seated, cross-legged position - without using any other limbs to support you - is a good indication of longevity. This is also known as the Sitting-Rising test. The European Journal of Preventive Cardiology published an interesting study that suggested that people who were unable to complete the Sitting-Rising test were five to six times more likely to die an early death, than those who had no issues performing it.

Why you should sit on the floor more often

When you get into the habit of sitting on the floor more often, this also means you need to get up from that seated position. Doing this multiple times a day increases your balance and strengthens your core - which in turn improves your overall mobility, natural flexibility and muscular-skeletal fitness.  It can also prevent falling when you are older - and falling is one of the main causes of death due to unintentional injury for people over 65 years old. 

How to do it right

If you want to give sitting on the floor more often a try (and you definitely should!) there is one thing you should pay attention to: your posture. It is important to avoid slouching (something that I, as an experienced floor-sitter, am still struggling with sometimes) and try to center your weight over your hips, so there’s not too much pressure on your feet and ankles. If a cross-legged position feels uncomfortable for you, try sitting on the edge of a folded blanket or rest your butt (not your legs) on a pillow. This way, your hips are slightly raised and the alignment of your body feels more comfortable.

Final thoughts

Of course, in our present-day society many of us spend way too much time sitting down and you should still make sure to get up regularly and walk around. And I’m not saying you should get rid of all your chairs and sofa’s and spend the rest of your sedentary time on the floor. However, alternating between sitting on an (ergonomic) chair and sitting on the floor, can actually help to realign your body and increase your range of motion. I’d suggest giving it a shot, just make sure to be mindful of your posture. Who knows, you may even enjoy it.