Sitting for lengthy periods is likely if you have a sedentary lifestyle. When you have a hectic schedule and work long hours, you may spend much of the day sitting down.
Health professionals use the phrase "sitting illness" to represent the wide range of problems that can arise from spending most of the day seated.
To help you avoid sitting illness, you can opt for a standing desk, which will ensure that you're not sitting down all day. We've compiled a summary of the health benefits you may expect from a standing desk. Read on to know standing desk health benefits.
What Is a Standing Desk?
A standing desk allows you to work comfortably at a computer while standing up, also known as a stand-up desk, an adjustable standing desk, or a sit-stand desk.
It is common for modern standing desks to be manually or electrically adjustable, allowing the user to quickly move between sitting and standing as needed, depending on the task.
With specific high-end standing workstations, you may specify your ideal desk height in advance and switch between various sizes with a simple button press if you like.
Now that we've learned what a standing desk is, let's look at its many advantages.
Is It Beneficial to Work at a Standing Desk?
To improve your health, consider using a standing desk at work. All of us have been taught that sitting all day is terrible for our health, both physically and mentally.
Standing for long periods can help you get more work done and have a better time at work.
Standing Desk Health Benefits
A standing desk is a terrific way to enhance your health while working, whether in your home office or a crowded shared environment. Here are some of the advantages of using a standing desk.
Helps to Increase Activity
When it comes to health, standing is better than sitting for long periods. Standing allows you to move more while working, even if it isn't active.
Standing at your workstation allows you to move more freely with your arms and legs. Standing mats, balancing boards, treadmills, and even exercise cycles are popular accessories for those who utilize standing workstations.
However, even if standing is better for your health than sitting, you still need to ensure that you are moving actively as you stand.
This additional exercise makes standing desk users likely to burn more calories during the day.
Gives You a Boost of Energy
A review of research published in the Applied Ergonomics journal found that employees who used a standing desk spent more time on their feet.
A single hour of standing throughout the workday increased productivity by 66% and invigorated employees by 87%, according to UK researchers.
Using the findings, they started the Smart Work and Life initiative to encourage office workers to be more active.
Staying awake and aware is made more accessible by including little movements and energetic moments in your day. You're more engaged when you're forced to think on your feet.
Standing breaks might assist you in regaining some of your lost energy and excitement throughout your shift if you're experiencing fatigue.
Effortlessly Alleviate Neck and Back Pain
If you spend a lot of time hunched over a desk all day, you're probably familiar with back and neck pain. Sitting all day may put a great deal of strain on your spine and damage your discs if you continuously do it for long periods.
Our posture deteriorates when we spend long periods of time hunching and staring at a computer screen. Neck pain might occur if your display isn't set up ergonomically, leading you to recline your head.
Stand-up desks may be the answer to your problems relating to back and neck discomfort.
Lowers Blood Sugar Levels
Most people's health is negatively affected by a rise in blood sugar after a meal. People with insulin resistance or Type 2 diabetes should keep this in mind.
Researchers found that standing rather than sitting for the same time after lunch lowered the blood sugar surge by 43% in a study of 10 office workers.
The fact that the difference was related to standing rather than increased physical motions about the office showed that both groups walked the same number of steps each hour.
According to a study, the average blood sugar surge was lowered by 11.1% when 23 office workers alternated standing and sitting every 30 minutes during the workday.
Type 2 diabetes is 112 percent more likely among people who spend too much time sedentary, which may partly explain the detrimental consequences of sitting after meals.
Improve Your Mood and Energy Levels
It appears that standing workstations have a good effect on overall health. According to research, standing desk users reported less stress and weariness than those who sat all day at their workstations.
In addition, 87% of people who use standing workstations say they have more energy and vitality throughout the day than before.
As soon as they returned to their previous workstations, their general emotions returned to normal. According to a wide range of studies on sitting and mental health, being sedentary increases the risk of sadness and anxiety.
Reduces the Risk of Obesity and Weight Gain
The simple fact is that you will gain weight when you consume more calories than you burn.
Even though our bodies naturally burn calories, you may assist that process by engaging in physical activity such as running or walking.
However, did you know that standing rather than sitting might burn more calories? As a result of sitting for long periods at work, many employees experience unwanted weight gain.
You may burn an extra 30,000 calories annually by standing for an additional three hours a day, which is easy to accomplish while at work. At this rate, you'd have to run almost ten marathons to get this much fat off.
Reduces the Risk to One's Health
Obesity, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer are all related to prolonged sitting. Including periods of standing in your workday with a standing desk is possible.
Reducing your risk of heart disease can be as simple as getting out of bed and taking a brief walk to help decrease blood sugar and cholesterol.
The best way to fight diabetes is to stay active and increase your mobility and exercise. Inactivity, such as sitting, can raise your chance of getting Type 2 diabetes since it slows down your metabolism.
You can considerably lower postprandial glucose, insulin, and NEFA in women with diabetes if you break up your extended sitting with standing and walking, according to the ADA.
A lack of physical exercise has been shown to increase the risk of developing malignancies, such as breast and colon cancers.
Long-term sitting, especially if accompanied by frequent inactivity, raises a person's risk for various malignancies.
Improves Productivity
An issue with standing workstations is that they make it difficult to do everyday tasks, such as typing. Though it may take some time to become used to standing up every afternoon, standing desks don't appear to influence ordinary job duties.
Using a standing desk for four hours a day did not affect characters written per minute or typing mistakes in a study of 60 young office workers.
Using a standing desk is more likely to promote productivity than impede it, given that standing has been shown to improve mood and vitality.
Excellent Way to Lose Weight
Compared to sitting, which consumes 60-130 calories per hour, standing burns 100-200 calories per hour. However, over time, it might mount up.
Additionally, standing as you work burns calories by altering your state of mind. While standing, your reason is more likely to remain in a state of "health mode."
During the day, you'll be moving around a lot more than usual. Lift your legs if you want to, or you can even take a break and perform some lunges or jumping jacks.
Incorporate these tiny changes in movement into your daily routine, and you'll burn more calories at work.
Aids in Proper Wrist Position
Your wrists may have started to rest on your keyboard if you've ever typed with a laptop on your lap. Wrist soreness and strain are possible side effects of standing for long periods.
Hands held incorrectly can exacerbate the suffering of those with carpal tunnel syndrome, a compressed nerve in the wrist.
Knowing your wrist posture and the pressure on your body while working is a brilliant idea. You can utilize an adjustable height like a standing desk to keep your arms in the 90-100-degree position.
In many cases, typing in this position is more comfortable and may even help you type faster!
Wrapping Up
We hope these standing desk health benefits helped you realize that standing as you work will help you lead a more active lifestyle.
Standing is a great strategy to minimize the risk of heart disease and diabetes, as well as other health issues. Standing can assist with posture and reduce discomfort in your neck and back if you use good ergonomics.
This is why we recommend Pro Plus Standing Desk (E7) from FlexiSpot which moves up and down smoothly to keep your devices in place during height adjustments.
Taking minutes to stand or walk about during the day might improve circulation and activity. Reducing your daily sitting time has several health advantages, including the potential to lengthen your life expectancy.
