Eat healthy, move more, stress less…each and every day we’re bombarded with messages, subliminal or direct, about the ways to achieve a healthy, balanced lifestyle. Whilst much of the popular advice will of course divide opinion, most will agree that sitting too much is seriously bad for your health. People who sit a lot have an increased risk of diabetes and heart disease. In addition, sitting all the time burns very few calories which has been linked to weight gain by scientific studies. This is a major problem for office workers as they sit down for most of the day. Sit stand desks are becoming increasingly popular.
So what is a sit stand desk?
To coin an old phrase, it does exactly what it says on the tin. Essentially it’s a desk that allows you to stand up comfortably whilst working, allowing the user to vary the height of the desk and alternate between sitting and standing.
White papers conclude that using a standing desk can have impressive benefits for health and overall productivity. At the very least, using this type of desk can partly negate the harmful effects of sitting too much.
So, from the team in the know here at Formetiq, we’ve compiled four benefits of using a standing desk.
1. Standing lowers your risk of weight gain.
Weight gain by its very nature is caused by taking in more calories than you burn. While exercise is the most effective way to burn calories efficiently, simply choosing to stand instead of sitting can be hugely beneficial. In fact, when compared to an afternoon of sedentary work, an equal amount of time spent standing has been shown to burn over 170 additional calories… still want that Mars bar?
2. Height adjustable desks reduce back pain.
We’ve all been there, when the clock ticks three o’clock and your back finally screams enough! Indeed, back pain is one of the most common complaints of office workers who sit all day. Whilst there have been many studies on the aforementioned topic, one concluded that its participants reported up to a 32% improvement in lower back pain after several weeks of using standing desks.
3. Standing boosts productivity.
A common concern about sit stand desks is that they hinder daily tasks such as typing. However a recent study well and truly puts that myth to bed – in a study of 60 young office employees, standing for 4 hours each day had no impact on characters typed per minute or typing errors.
4. Sit stand desks improve mood and energy levels.
In a seven-week study, those using sit stand desks reported less stress and fatigue than those who remained seated the entire working day. Additionally, 87% of those using standing desks reported increased energy levels through the day.
Upon returning to their old desks, overall moods reverted to their original levels. These findings align with broader research on sitting and mental health, which links sedentary time with an increased risk of both depression and anxiety.
