Why get a standing desk anyway?

Update:20 May 2022

The main reason many people choose Stand Up Desk is due to the health benefits. Excessive sitting has been linked with higher diabetes and heart disease rates, for instance.

Let’s take a closer look at the research around tasking desks and the following:Longevity, Calories, Blood sugar, Back pain, Moods, Productivity .

  1. Longevity

A study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology in 2010 found that standing can have a positive impact on people’s life expectancy.

Women who reported sitting for more than six hours during their leisure time – versus less than three hours a day – had an approximately 40% higher all-cause death rate, and men had an approximately 20% higher death rate.

A separate study concluded that the estimated gains in life expectancy in the US population were two years for reducing excessive sitting to less than three hours a day.  

  1. Calorie burning

Some experts also believe that sitting for long periods of time contributes to weight gain, because you inevitably burn fewer calories.

While standing burns a handful more calories per hour than sitting, moving around is what really lowers your risk of weight gain and obesity.

  1. Lower blood sugar levels

Some studies have linked the use of standing desks to lower blood sugar levels.

One research paper found that following a meal, blood sugar levels returned to normal quicker on the days the participants spent more time standing.

In a study of 10 office workers, standing for 180 minutes after lunch reduced the blood sugar spike by 43%, compared to sitting for the same amount of time.

Both cohorts in the study took the same amount of steps, so the researchers could deduce that the smaller spike was due to standing as opposed to moving around more.

  1. Back pain relief

Workers often state that using a standing desk leads to less back pain.

One study concluded that “transitioning from a seated to a standing work posture every 30 minutes across the workday, relative to seated work, led to a significant reduction in fatigue levels and lower back discomfort in overweight/obese office workers.”

Another study found that employees who used a sit-stand workstation experienced a “significant reduction” in existing low back pain.

 

  1. Better moods

 

Aside from physical health reasons, there are other benefits associated with using a standing desk. In one 7-week study, participants using standing desks reported less stress and fatigue than those who sat down for the whole day.

What’s more, 87% of standing desk users felt they had more energy throughout the day.

 

  1. Increased productivity levels

 

Studies have shown that standing desks can also boost productivity levels.

One study compared a group of call centre workers who had access to a “stand-capable” desk to a seated group. The experiment involved 167 employees across two departments.

Those using the stand-capable desks were around 45% more productive day-to-day than their seated coworkers.

 

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