{"id":363149,"date":"2026-01-10T18:12:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T18:12:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/363149\/"},"modified":"2026-01-10T18:12:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T18:12:08","slug":"health-benefits-of-sitting-on-the-floor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/363149\/","title":{"rendered":"Health Benefits Of Sitting On The Floor"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s well-established that spending too much time sitting (ahem, working at a desk) could have an impact on our bodies. Sitting all day<\/a> can decrease muscle strength<\/a> and is linked to bad health outcomes like heart disease<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But is all sitting created equal?<\/p>\n

Some folks<\/a> say sitting on the ground is actually good for your health, and should be done regularly \u2015 a concept that almost seems too good to be true.<\/p>\n

Below, experts shared with HuffPost the pros and cons of sitting on the floor \u2014 and why no one posture is ideal.<\/p>\n

Sitting cross-legged on the ground can be good for mobility and flexibility.<\/p>\n

Most adults likely don\u2019t often find themselves frequently sitting on the floor in the cross-legged position. But kids who regularly sit and play on the floor may be onto something.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really think from a health benefits or a musculoskeletal condition standpoint, that [cross-legged sitting] posture really does help us with … hip, low back and knee range of motion,\u201d said Dr. Christopher Bise<\/a>, an assistant professor in the department of physical therapy at the University of Pittsburgh. It also helps keep our lower body flexible, he said.<\/p>\n

Dr. Jennifer O\u2019Connell<\/a>, a physiatrist at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, added that \u201cone of the problems with sitting in a chair is that it\u2019s a position where your hamstrings tend to be tight \u2014 sitting in a cross legged position may help that somewhat.\u201d<\/p>\n

But if you aren\u2019t able to get yourself down to the floor, you can still work on your mobility and flexibility.<\/p>\n

\u201cRemember that these positions don\u2019t necessarily have to be on the floor. You can, on a couch, get in to the cross-legged sitting position, or you can use different sitting positions on the couch that will also increase your range of motion, as well,\u201d Bise explained.<\/p>\n

Having a good range of motion is important as you age.<\/p>\n

Maintaining your range of motion is important for many reasons \u2014 you\u2019ll be better able to get around your house, do your errands, and play with children and grandchildren as your years increase.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I think one of the things that happens when we get older is … we become less flexible because we begin to slow down \u2015 but we don\u2019t have to be less flexible,\u201d Bise said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd when you think about the treatments you\u2019re going to receive from a physical therapist … one of the first things they\u2019re going to do is assess both your joint mobility and your muscle flexibility for the muscles around your joints and see how they\u2019re moving,\u201d Bise continued. \u201cAnd when we have bones and joints and muscles that are inflexible, that are stiffer, we\u2019re not going to move as well or as efficiently as we could.\u201d<\/p>\n

Going from sitting on the ground, to the chair, to walking and exercising is a great way to keep yourself mobile and flexible. <\/p>\n

Plus, the ability to actually get into and out of a seated-on-the-floor posture is also important, Bise said. Older adults<\/a> are prone to falls, he said, but if they have the ability to rise and lower to and from the floor, they\u2019ll be more able to prevent falls in the future or get themselves up if need be.<\/p>\n

\"Sitting<\/p>\n

PeopleImages via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Sitting on the ground can be a good way to maintain your range of motion and flexibility. <\/p>\n

Sitting on the ground can work your core, too.<\/p>\n

Sitting on the ground engages your core muscles in a way that just doesn\u2019t happen when you\u2019re sitting on a chair, according to O\u2019Connell.<\/p>\n

Without back support from a chair, your core muscles automatically turn on, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then just the mere act of getting up from that position is beneficial for your whole body. You\u2019re exercising your hips, your knees, your entire lower chain and your core in order to get up,\u201d O\u2019Connell explained.<\/p>\n

But this doesn\u2019t mean you should sit on the ground all the time.<\/p>\n

You can try sitting on the ground for 30 minutes or so, but you should not plop down on the floor for the entire day.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a reason that your Apple Watch reminds you every 60 minutes to get up and start moving again … some of it is postural, some of it is just simple motion and getting calories going, but some of it is also changing postures as well,\u201d Bise noted.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Connell said that she routinely tells her patients who work desk jobs to get up and move around \u2014 whether that\u2019s walking to get a glass of water or just moving around the house.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore you know it, an hour to two hours have gone by, you didn\u2019t get up and move. And although you didn\u2019t really notice that because you were focused on tasks, your back did notice that,\u201d O\u2019Connell explained.<\/p>\n

Sitting on the ground is not ideal for everyone.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne reason where floor seating may be detrimental is if you have joint issues,\u201d O\u2019Connell said. \u201cAs a matter of reference, I have an issue where my hips don\u2019t open up very well, so sitting in a traditional cross-legged position on the floor for me is very challenging.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additionally, people recovering from certain surgeries or injuries may also have trouble sitting on the ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust like with anything … check with your doctor before you start any type of exercise regimen,\u201d O\u2019Connell said. \u201cBut you can consult with a physical therapist, and they can give you strategies for getting up and down off the floor.\u201d<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s good to put your body in different postures and positions, you shouldn\u2019t do so if it\u2019s not safe for you.<\/p>\n

The original version of this story was published on HuffPost at an earlier date.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s well-established that spending too much time sitting (ahem, working at a desk) could have an impact on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":363150,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[138988,6647,102,138989,15215,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-363149","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-beneficial-or-bs","9":"tag-fitness","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-posture","12":"tag-sitting","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=363149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363149\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/363150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=363149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=363149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=363149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}