Why Standing Desk Is Here to Stay

We sit — a lot.

From the time we first enter school until we retire from our careers, the majority of our weekday time is spent sitting: We sit in the car. We sit at our desks. We sit in meetings. We sit and watch TV.

This doesn’t mean we’re lazy. Most of us are extremely busy, with days filled with family needs, gatherings, errands, phone calls, emails, texts, and more. We’re so busy that we often think we’re being active during the day, even without being active with the help of standing desk small.

The truth is, despite the busyness of our days, most of us move far too little to maintain the health of our priceless bodies.

Research shows that almost two out of three people classify themselves as “active,” even though only about 5 percent of people actually are.

Television and video game time have taken the blame for our lack of activity for years. But it’s actually our school and work environments that cause the greatest amount of sedentary time. People spend more time sitting during workdays than they do on their days off.

Fortunately, many companies are catching on to the importance of keeping their employees active by standing desk with drawers. Moving more throughout the day holds the promise of better employee health and productivity, as well as reduced healthcare costs — not to mention better job satisfaction.

High-top conference tables, standing computer desk, and walking meetings are not a passing fad. These activity-promoting office features are here to stay. Here’s why:

From an Employer’s Perspective

No good employer would intentionally expose employees to harm. For example, it’s unheard of today to allow smoking inside a workplace. It’s almost as harmful to give out free soda, candy, and other junk food, although this does still happen in some workplaces because the negative impacts are less widely understood.

If employers are prioritizing their employees’ health and well-being, looking at ways to get them off their desk chairs and onto their feet as much possible throughout the day is also a key need. Maybe an ergonomic office chair is a good choice.

In addition to the impacts noted in the above section, sedentary activity is associated with an increased risk of obesity, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and cholesterol and triglyceride problems.

And guess which health problems are of greatest concern to most corporations? Obesity, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and elevated cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

Exercise is definitely important. For many reasons, including that it helps build lean body mass and often helps lower stress levels. But, the negative impact of sitting throughout the day affects exercisers and non-exercisers almost equally.

Evidence suggests that an hour of exercise each day cannot offset the negative effects of sitting the rest of the day — we’ve seen that extended periods of sitting can increase morbidity and mortality risks even in those who exercise for an hour a day. Some evidence even suggests that people who exercise may actually end up sitting more the rest of the day, offsetting some of the benefits of exercise.

There’s no doubt that employers should encourage their employees to exercise and participate in physical activities, such as athletic events. However, because the time it takes to engage in those pursuits only accounts for a fraction of people’s days, to have the greatest impact on health, employees will want to move more with the help of stand up desk throughout the work day as well.

The Benefits of a Standing Gamine Desk

One of the main reasons sitting disrupts metabolism is due to the prolonged “unloading” of muscle, especially the legs. When you’re sitting, your leg muscles don’t contract, which suppresses an enzyme called lipoprotein lipase. This negatively impacts fat and carbohydrate metabolism.

The lack of muscle contraction also affects blood and lymph flow. If you notice you have deep marks on your legs when you take your socks off at night, this is likely the cause.

A lack of muscle contraction can reduce muscle size and strength over time as well.

By simply just standing at your height adjustable desk, rather than sitting, your leg muscles stay moderately contracted. You also tend to shift your weight back and forth as you stand, which helps with blood flow.

You don’t burn a significant number of calories when standing as compared to sitting, but the act of standing helps you avoid many of the mentioned metabolic changes.

What is the ideal amount of time to spend standing? Is it 5 to 10 minutes per hour? 30 minutes every hour? The whole day? More research needs to be done here.

Our suggestion is to try to stand as much as possible. If you’re someone who currently sits all day, start buying an electric desk and spend a small period of time so your feet, hips, knees, and back get accustom to it.

It’s also important to set up your workstation for proper ergonomics, so you’re not hunched over, looking at a screen well below your shoulders, or having to reach too far for your keyboard.

The Benefits of Walking (And Walking Meetings)

Walking requires more energy than standing does, and therefore provides some additional health benefits.

Much of the research on walking focuses on step targets. For example, one study showed that achieving 10,000 steps or more each day helped to lower blood pressure, improve exercise capacity, and reduce sympathetic stimulation in patients with high blood pressure.

10,000 steps seems to be an ideal target to reduce many of the problems associated with sedentarism, and this is where standing l shaped desk can provide help

Most of these 10,000 steps should be outside of exercise sessions. For example, if you’re a runner, you can’t expect to reap the benefits of walking 10,000 steps if you get them in an hour-long run and then sit the rest of the day.

Americans on average get in about 6,500 steps each day. Imagine how much better the health could be for employee groups who are encouraged to get their extra 3,500 steps every day at work?