Many professionals consider height-adjustable standing desks for their workspace, be it at home or at an office. A height-adjustable standing desk offers excellent versatility, comfort, and convenience to its users. So, opting for one can be worth the investment—also because they allow you to use them as a regular desk for sitting at as well. That said, once you buy one, you will need to find the perfect adjustment for you to be able to get the most out of it.
Thus, this article is a complete guide on how to find the most comfortable position for your height-adjustable desk. It helps you find the most ergonomic settings when working in both standing and seated positions.
Understanding Ergonomics and Its Importance
Finding the most comfortable position when using your desk has to do with ergonomics. Ergonomics is the practice of maximizing your efficiency when you're working. Thus, accomplishing that entails setting up your workspace in a specific way. For example, the position of your desk, your seat adjustments, how you sit on your seat, keeping your workplace organized and clutter-free, and the position of your screen. In addition to that, other ergonomics-related practices include taking frequent breaks, keeping yourself hydrated, and getting some physical activity to ensure that your body stays fresh and active to keep you alert.
Of course, ergonomics is focused on helping you be as efficient as possible when working by making sure that you're working in a way that allows you to focus on cutting down time spent searching for items around your office. However, it's also crucial in helping you stay comfortable when you're working. By comfort, we refer to reducing the risk of strains on specific parts of your body, such as your back, neck, eyes, shoulders, arms, wrists, and legs. As a result, you can work relatively pain-free with low chances of developing injuries in these areas of your body.
So, to achieve good ergonomics to help you work faster than otherwise and to reduce the risk of pain and injuries, you must set up your desk properly.
How to Find the Most Comfortable Position for Your Height-Adjustable Desk
It's crucial to understand that there's no one height that works for everybody when it comes to setting up your desk with an adjustable height. Instead, you must know what the ideal positions for standing and sitting are and then find the adjustments that are perfect for you. You may require some trial and error initially, but you can simply use your desk's memory settings (more on this below) once you have that figured out. With that said, let's get into how to find the most comfortable position for your height-adjustable desk.
Factors for Finding the Most Comfortable Position when Standing in Front of the Desk
We'll start with the standing position, seeing as this article is focused on a standing desk. However, before getting into the crucial factors, we must first explain what the ideal posture is when standing so that you can adjust your desk according to that.
Various Aspects Related to Achieving the Ideal Standing Posture
Before you adjust the height of your desk, make sure that you're standing with the ideal posture. Here are some factors that involve standing with the best posture.
1. Make sure that your back is upright. Your lower back should not have any slump, and your upper back shouldn't be curved forward. Leaning forward and curving your upper back is known as rounded shoulders. Standing with rounded shoulders can lead to pain in your back and possible injury in your lumbar spine.
2. Keep your shoulders back and down in a natural position, and make sure that your neck is straight. Your entire upper body should be in line with your legs. Standing completely straight will put minimal strain on your lumbar spine in the long term, allowing you to work efficiently and stay healthy. It's important to see that your neck is not bent down to look at your laptop screen. In that case, you may compromise your posture by leaning forward and possibly rounding your shoulders.
3. Make sure that your knees are not bent. Bending your knees can prevent you from standing completely straight. As a result, you may start to slouch, or your eye level will be lower than when you're standing straight. Thus, you may not be looking at your screen from the ideal level, which can lead to neck and eye strain. In addition to that, bending your knees prevents you from keeping your entire body in one line, which may add more strain to your lumbar spine.
4. At the same time, keep both of your feet flat on the floor. Don't lift one foot off the floor and rest it behind your other leg with only the toes touching the floor. Standing with one foot off the floor can cause strain to your hips and lower back.
Adjusting Your Desk
Now that you know what the ideal posture is, here's how to adjust your height-adjustable standing desk.
Raise or lower it so that your forearms are parallel to the floor when you place them on the desk or on the keyboard and mouse. In that case, your wrists should be slightly lower or at the same level as your elbows. Your wrists should not be flexed upward when typing, as that can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome. In addition to that, you’ll also reduce the strain on your shoulders because you won't have armrests to support them.
At the same time, you should also stand close enough to your desk so that your elbows are at about 90 degrees.
Avoid adjusting the height based on the position of your screen because that will most likely compromise your wrist position, which is a crucial part of good ergonomics. Instead, adjust your screen position afterward. If you're using a laptop, consider a laptop stand and use an external mouse and keyboard for that purpose. On the other hand, if you're using a desktop computer, a monitor arm can help you raise or lower the monitor's height to fit your unique needs.
If you use a dual-motor height-adjustable standing desk by FlexiSpot, such as the model E8, you can save your height settings for your standing and sitting positions in individual memory preset slots. So, you simply have to push the memory slot button on your desk, and it will automatically adjust to your desired height.
Something to Keep in Mind About Comfort
It's also always a good idea to consider using an anti-fatigue mat when using a standing desk. Standing in one position for even an hour at a time can cause pain in your feet, ankles, and knees. So, high-quality mats like the one linked above come with memory foam that offers superior comfort, allowing you to reduce the risk of pain and injury in your lower body. You can use this mat with or without shoes.
Factors for Finding the Most Comfortable Position when Sitting at Your Desk
The factors of finding the most comfortable position when sitting at your desk are almost similar to when standing and using your desk. However, one difference is that you must know what good posture entails when sitting at your desk. That way, you can sit in the ideal posture and then adjust your desk’s height to fit your needs.
So, here are some quick tips for good posture unique to sitting at your desk.
Keep your backrest reclined at about 100 to 110 degrees. Avoid sitting at 90 degrees.
Make sure that you're resting your back against the backrest.
Place your arms on your chair's armrest.
After you set your posture, make sure that you adjust your desk height based on the position of your forearms and wrists. However, another thing to consider is that your legs have ample space below your desk. Don't keep your desk too low that your legs are struggling to fit under the desk. Everything else is secondary.
Some Additional Ergonomics Tips to Keep in Mind
Now that you know how to find the most comfortable position for your height-adjustable desk, you should know a few other ergonomics tips that will help you work with full focus and efficiency. So, here's what to keep in mind.
Make sure that you consistently switch between standing and sitting positions throughout your working hours. Don't stand and work for more than an hour because you will start to experience fatigue after that. You can work in a seated position for about 2 hours.
Take frequent breaks. Make sure you take a break of about 5 to 10 minutes every hour in which you walk around your office. Also, interact with other colleagues because hearing from them can help you feel like a part of a team and more motivated to work efficiently.
