Offices have evolved through the decades as innovations arrive to improve the working lives of employees all over the world. Previous times have seen graphic artists switch from using a mouse to a graphics tablet and presentations have gone from whiteboards to HD screens.
The desk is one area that hasn’t changed too much. Of course, the shapes of desks have evolved over the years and more ergonomic shapes have come in. But, now there is a very different desk available for anyone who spends a lot of time sitting down at work; the sit-stand desk. You may wonder what this is but, more importantly, will it help in any way?
What is a sit-stand desk?
You may have heard of it described as a height-adjustable desk. They come in manual and electric forms and basically replace the standard desk. They allow the user to choose from a range of heights, letting the worker either sit or stand. Not only this, but there are height adjustable worktops too so you don’t need to replace your existing desk.
Why would you want one of these desks?
Because the range of health benefits from working while standing is only just becoming clear. Everyone knows that slouching in a chair all day is not the healthiest way to work but until now very few thought that standing up was so good for you. Here are some of the (possibly) surprising health benefits you can get from a quality sit stand desk.
It helps you to burn calories
Seriously, just standing will burn off more calories than if stayed in your chair. You will burn up to 50 calories more an hour just from switching position from your chair to being upright. This is because when you stand your muscles are ‘activated’ and it takes more energy to stand. Over the course of a day this calorie count will add up and although you won’t get slim or fit just from standing this is just the start of other benefits you will gain from not sitting all day.
Reducing back pain and improving posture
Office workers tend to lounge back in chairs or sit with rounded shoulders hunched over their computer. This puts a strain on the neck and a poor sitting position can bring on back pain. Many people are remote working and there are negative effects on health for home workers as they slip into bad habits; a sit-stand desk is one way to look after your back.
General health and avoiding illness
When you sit down you are effectively becoming inactive. You may be typing away at a keyboard or moving your mouse but the rest of your body is slowing down and your metabolism will drop; it isn’t just your calorie count that slows down.
When you consider how you might work along with snacks or sugary drinks then you start to consider how bad sitting all day is. It is widely believed that many health problems come from being inactive including:
- Type 2 diabetes
- Obesity
- Risk of heart attack
- Poor circulation
- Cardiovascular disease
- Deep vein thrombosis
Simply standing to work for some or all of your day may help to reduce the risks associated with a sedentary lifestyle.
Improves concentration
Employees and their employers are always interested in finding new ways to improve concentration. There are many tricks one can use but a simple one is just to stand up. With the increased blood flow and the body and muscles starting to wake up you will find yourself more alert. Think about how people often stand up when they take a phone call, it may be an unconscious decision to stand but the brain gets more blood when you stand.
Relieves stress
There are many benefits to working from home and lots of remote workers say there is less stress due to minimal travel and other considerations. One other way to reduce stress is to use a sit-stand desk. Just like it improves concentration, standing up and letting your muscles fire up and the blood to flow lowers stress. Simply, by standing you have switched from a position where you are hunched over the screen to a freer, standing position and allowing your shoulders and neck to relax.
In conclusion
Many workers have noted that they feel like they have more energy from using this new type of desk and others have noted they are more productive. Being honest is there a time you can remember where you nearly fell asleep in your chair? Standing up is a good way to wake up and get the blood moving.
When you think about ways to improve your posture, relieve back pain, improve your general health, and burn calories you may not think about standing up. However, the way the human body is built and operates it is clear that making one simple change in your work practices could bring many benefits.
