No more hunching over my desk!
My posture has never been Hunchback of Notre Dame status, but I wouldn’t expect a book to stay on my head for long. But if you were to ask my nana, she would tell you that it’s a terrible problem I have.
Sitting at a desk all day researching and writing about products you didn’t know you needed (like this Game of Thrones toilet decal!) has contributed to the less-than-straight posture I typically have. Thanks to Upright GO, not only has my posture greatly improved, but it made me realize how much slouching I really did throughout the day.
I can’t stress enough how easy this handy little posture tool is to use. Unlike other ones that require being wrapped around your back, you’ll quickly forget this 1.75-inch-by-1-inch device is even there. All you do is download the app, turn on the device, and let the two connect. The app will ask you a few questions about your day-to-day, like how much time you spend sitting. It sticks in the center of your upper back and gives you sticky replacements so you don’t have to worry about it falling off from daily use. Every time you use it, you'll set your posture with the app. Sit straight with your shoulders back, press the set button on the app, and the tool will vibrate twice.
Based off of those questions you answered earlier, the app will recommend “training” time — which means the device will vibrate every time you're slouching for more than 4 seconds. You can switch over to “tracking” after your daily goal has been met, which means it won’t vibrate but it will track your posture habits.
On my first day, I switched the Upright GO to tracking mode after my 8-minute goal was met. I went about my day as usual without the tracker interfering with my daily activity. It wasn’t until I received a notification from the app on my phone that I had been slouching for 15 MINUTES! What? I hadn’t even noticed? From then on, I decided to keep the training mode on so I wouldn’t reach an extensive slouching period again.
Whether it was for 2 hours or 7, I felt improvement each day I wore the tracker. It’s like it flipped a switch in the back of my mind to sit straighter and push my shoulders back. Aside from helping you improve your posture in the moment, it gets you in the habit of sitting and standing taller. The adhesive strip sticks to your back for hours, and I was totally comfortable going to lunch and on the subway with it on (and no, it didn’t fall off).
The only complaint I have about the product is after 7.5 hours of wearing it over the course of 2 days, I got an app notification that it had 10% battery left — despite the product claiming it has working battery life of 10 hours or more. I wish it lasted a bit longer, but overall, you can’t beat how lightweight, easy, and effective it is.
It looks like I won’t hit Hunchback of Notre Dame status any time soon.