The Surprising Benefits of a Stand-Up Desk

Sitting for long periods can seriously hurt your health. In fact, some medical researchers say it’s as bad as smoking for your health. Whether this happens in front of a screen or behind the wheel, extended sitting can be harmful. The more time you spend in a day sitting, the greater is your risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and premature death.

Additionally, sitting all day long has been linked to obesity and weight gain. While this is alarming for all people, those who work in an office should be especially concerned since most of their day is spent sitting. What can be done to overcome this? Getting employers everywhere to offer standing desks to their office staff.

What Makes Standing-Desks the Fastest Growing Benefits Trend

In 2013, the American Medical Association (AMA) adopted a policy against sedentary behavior. The policy looked to promote a healthier workplace by encouraging greater use of standing desks or workstations. This was one of the main reasons behind the boom of the standing-desk trend in workplaces across the U.S. Today, it is the fastest growing benefits trend in the U.S.

One of the main reasons why employers have not taken long to warm up to the idea of a standing desk is that sitting for extended period is proven to cause major health issues. Also known a stand-up desk, a standing desk is a desk that makes it comfortable to work while standing. Moreover, the newer versions of this desk come with adjustable features which allow users to change the desk’s height to alternate between sitting and standing.

From a simple piece of furniture on which you can place your laptop or books to a customized desk with a range of features for adjustability, standing desks come in many different shapes. Moreover, the price of an adjustable stand-up desk can range from a few hundred dollars to over $1000. Several health benefits are associated with these desks including lower cholesterol, lower blood sugar, weight loss, improved mental health, reduced back pain, and greater life expectancy.

The Risks of Sitting

The risks of sitting are the main reason for increased popularity of standing desks. What are the risks of sitting? Sitting for extended periods can increase your chances of developing diabetes, blood clots, and cardiovascular disease. Research show the sitting for long periods can have dramatic effects on a person’s health. People who spend most of their day sitting have an increased risk of a heart attack or stroke. They also have a higher mortality rate than those with more balanced sit/stand time.

Contrary to popular belief, the ill-effects of prolonged sitting cannot be countered with an hour or so of regular exercise. Instead, the only way to overcome the health problems created by extended sitting is to limit the time you sit in a day. One of the best ways to accomplish this is with a stand-up desk.

Why Using a Standing Desk is in Your Interest

People call standing desks by a whole host of names but that makes no difference to their usefulness. Following are some of the main benefits of using a standing desk over a reasonable period of time:

1. Burning More Calories

You gain weight when you consume more calories than you burn. Therefore, you can reduce weight by burning more calories than you consume. Exercise isn’t the only way of doing this. You can also burn more calories by limiting the time you sit during the day. According to one study, we can burn an additional 170 calories during the workday by balancing our sit and stand time in front of our work desks. That is more than 850 calories burned during the week by simply standing more in front of our work desks.

2. Better Ergonomics

No matter how convincing they sound in their argument, don’t believe anyone who says sitting is a natural position. It is not! This is because you can develop a range of health problems when you sit behind a sit for an extended period. The health issues caused by extended sitting include leg cramps, neck and shoulder pain, back spasms, vision issues, headaches, and sciatica.

While standing is better for your health than sitting, it can also cause pain if you’re not used to it. What is the solution? it is a height-adjustable ergonomic stand-up desk. This desk will ensure that you are comfortable while working. The increased comfort will increase your efficiency which will make your more productive at work.

There are also social benefits of a stand-up laptop desk as it encourages interaction with colleagues. When you are working from a standing desk, it becomes easier to access not just your colleagues, but also office equipment and supply rooms. Surely, this is too good an offer to pass up?

3. Longer Life Expectancy

The benefit of a standing desk will probably surprise you. After all, how can a desk increase your lifespan? Well, it can! According to some studies, active people have a longer life expectancy than those with a sedentary lifestyle. A standing desk can keep you active by encouraging you to use more of your body during the workday.

Standing desks are one of the fastest growing benefits trends in the U.S. Considering the above benefits of a standing desk, it is easy to see why.