Why it is important to sit on the floor while eating
AWAY WITH THE DINING TABLE!
Sitting on the floor while you eat can improve your health, wellbeing, Scientists say
Franca Sulem-Yong
Going back to the Stone Age era? Not exactly! But scientists are beginning to stumble on reasons the first generation of human family lived upwards of 800 years at one stretch.
Eating your meals while sitting on the floor of your home can bring significant health benefits, scientists say. While this tradition is seemingly fading out of the African culture as most people have embraced the table and chair for eating, it is still commonly practiced in Muslim-dominated regions like the Northern parts of Nigeria and the Cameroon. Whether you are sitting down in a family circle on a mat or in front of the television, eating while sitting on the floor can improve your health and wellbeing in the following ways;
It helps you maintain a healthy weight
According to the Sit-Down Diet theory in nutrition, we consume fewer calories and comparatively more nutritious food when we sit and eat than while standing up or walking. On a more specific note, an article from The Health site further suggests that when you sit down on the floor, your brain automatically calms down and this enables you to cognate the amount of food you want to eat. It is worth noting that while we eat, the vagus nerve (the main nerve that transmits signals from the stomach to the brain) sends signals as to whether we are satiated or not to the brain. Scientists suggest that when you sit on the floor, this nerve is able to perform better and transmit signals more efficiently.
It can make your body more flexible
Do you want to have a more flexible body? Then sit on the floor when you eat. Sitting and eating from a plate placed on the floor naturally requires you to bend forward slightly and go back to your starting position to swallow.
According to Alternative Daily, a blog on healthy lifestyle, this constant back-and-forth movement can cause the muscles of your abdomen to get activated and leads to increased secretion of stomach acids, making it easier to digest food. In addition, by sitting on the floor, we strengthen the lumbar region of the body, reducing back pain and discomfort. The hips open, making our pelvis and legs more flexible. Core muscles are strengthened, and the ankles also get gently stretched. Constant bending of the knees, ankles and hip joint helps keep them flexible and free of diseases. And with flexibility comes better lubrication between the joints making it much easier to sit on the floor. This would in turn make everything from walking to dancing easier and more enjoyable.
It naturally improves your posture
A Lagos based nutritionist, Michael Abegunde attributes the poor posture of most city dwellers to a habit of sitting over desks and computers and slumping onto couches and chairs for long periods of time. Taking time to sit on the floor everyday when eating, he notes, helps us build good posture. This activity would help straighten your spine and shoulders to be pushed back and relaxed, which naturally corrects poor posture, responsible for quick fatigue.
It is important that we all cultivate good postures not only to prevent injuries and reduce unnecessary straining of muscles but also to look more presentable. Therefore, let us make it a point to sit down on the floor to eat every now and then.
Boosts blood circulation and a healthy heart
One of digestion’s most important element is a sound blood circulation. When you sit on the floor your heart gets the benefits of circulation as the blood is easily pumped through the heart to all the organs needed for digestion. This is in contrast to the pattern of circulation when you sit on a dining table and chair, wherein the blood flows to the legs as they are lower than the heart. Therefore sitting on the floor and eating, affords you not only a fluent blood circulation but also a healthy heart. So make the right choice.
Establishes closer bond between family and friends
If the aforementioned physical benefits are not enough to convince you to eat your meals while sitting on the floor, consider that the practice of sitting on the floor and eating is a family activity. In fact, in countries all over the world, you find people who eat, watch TV, play games, and hang out with family members — or do anything while sitting down on the floor are happier and healthier for it.
A 400-level student of mass communication at the University of Lagos, Nigeria, Miss Chidinma Njoku, puts her experience this way: “Whenever I want to chill, I summon my friends and we all sit on the floor and eat pop corn while watching the television.” This is often a great time between loved ones and guests as it permits everyone to be thoroughly human, free and natural without inhibition by Western so-called “table manners” or rules of eating.”
It can improve your life span
Last but far from the least, the merits listed above all combine to give us a healthier, longer life span. A study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology found that people who sat on the floor in padmasana and were able to get up without any strain or support were more likely to live longer. This is because being able to get up from that position takes a considerable amount of flexibility and lower body strength. The study found that those who were not able to get up without support were at the risk of being 6.5 times more likely to die in the next six years.
Our ancestors were not fools to sit on the floor while eating and it is not surprising that they lived longer and healthier all their lives. The fact that some cultures around the world have maintained the tradition despite modern eating trends gives empirical evidence that this practice is beneficial to our lives.
Now, would you eat your meals sitting on the bare floor henceforth? Do not sit on foam of any kind. A mat, perhaps, but certainly not a cushion either. The floor, it is proven, offers a healthier, longer and more productive life.
The choice is yours.
