TikTok's "Adult Tummy Time" Trend Is The Weirdest Way To Fix Poor Posture

There’s a lot of advice for fixing your posture and tech neck, from special exercises to stretches that target your shoulders and upper back, and even posture-correcting bras. But what if, all along, the only thing you had to do was lie on your stomach like a baby?

“Tummy time” for babies helps them build muscle strength and coordination. For adults, it could be a way to fix that pesky bend in your neck caused by staring down at your devices. The idea was originally shared on April 5 by TikTok creator @chsnwhn, who said tummy time is one of the best ways to fix tech neck. The post now has over 2.6 million views.

Since it went viral, thousands of people have been giving tummy time a try, like creator @ari.viscera. “I have my journal and my book,” she said in a video where she’s lying on her stomach. Normally, she would journal while slouching over a table, but decided to see how this position felt instead.

Creator @jennlashley_, a posture and fitness coach, said she watches TikTok during her tummy time to strengthen her back muscles and improve her posture, while @samrusyoga will work, journal, or read for 10 minutes a day while lying on her stomach. A lot of people swear by this move, but others have questions. Here’s what to know about adult tummy time.

The Benefits Of Adult Tummy Time

According to Dr. Mark El-Hayek, the head chiropractor and owner of Spine and Posture Care, the biggest cause of poor posture is repetition. “It’s not just that we slouch, it’s that we stay in the same slouched position for hours every day,” he tells Bustle. Whether you’re looking down at a laptop, phone, tablet, or desk, the movement is pretty unnatural for your body — and that’s why it causes a lengthy list of issues.

“When the head shifts forward, the natural C-shaped curve in the neck starts to straighten,” he says. “This transfers pressure to the surrounding muscles, especially the traps and suboccipitals, which were never designed to carry that load all day. That is when people start experiencing headaches, shoulder tension, neck pain, [and postural change].”

Along with shoulder stretches, exercises, or simply sitting up straighter at your desk, lying on your stomach is another way to help reset your posture. “Most of the extension that happens in this [tummy time] position comes from the lower back, not the neck,” says El-Hayek. “You can't fully isolate which joints are moving unless the position is modified. But when it is set up properly, it interrupts the forward hunch most people are stuck in all day.”

It’s a good move to add to your repertoire. If you’re reading in bed on your back, for example, you could easily flip over for a few minutes of tummy time. If you spend all day at a desk, you could lay on the floor. A lot of people swear by tummy time, especially since it’s so easy.

How To Try Tummy Time

To make the most of your tummy time, it’s all about getting into the correct position, which is very similar to the sphinx pose in yoga. Here, Anouska Shenn, a yoga teacher and founder of The Office Yoga Company, shares how to get it right:

• Lie on your stomach.
• Extend your forearms in front of you with your elbows slightly ahead of your shoulders.
• Keep the back of your neck long.
• Keep your shoulders relaxed and away from your ears.
• If you’re shrugging your shoulders, press more firmly into your forearms and draw your shoulder blades down and back.
• If the posture causes any pain or discomfort, come out of it early.

“After spending some time in a backbend, we usually take a child’s pose to counter that extension of the spine with gentle flexion,” she tells Bustle. This allows the back muscles to relax.

On TikTok, a lot of people say the tummy time move hurts their arms or causes pressure to build up in their head. If that happens to you, El-Hayek says it may be a sign that the muscles in your neck have been tense or stiff for a long time.

“Using a heat pack beforehand can help relax the area,” he says. “If the symptoms change after that, it is usually a sign that the body may respond well once it has had time to adjust. But if the discomfort persists, you are probably doing too much too soon.” Otherwise, grab your phone or a book and enjoy your tummy time.

Sources:

Dr. Mark El-Hayek, head chiropractor, owner of Spine and Posture Care

Anouska Shenn, yoga teacher, founder of The Office Yoga Company