Are Standing Desks Good For You?

According to the American "Annals of Internal Medicine", people spend more than half of their waking hours sitting on average, sitting at work, sitting while driving, and sitting even when they come home. health risks are becoming increasingly serious.

In response to the health problems caused by prolonged sitting and to offset the damage caused by long-term inactivity, standing desks are gradually entering the public eye, a growing trend.

More and more people are buying standing desks for home offices, and businesses are starting to buy height-adjustable desks for their employees. A survey by the Society for Human Resource Management found that standing desks are the fastest-growing corporate perk trend. In 2013, 13 % of employers offered or funded the purchase of standing desks, compared to 44 % in 2017 and 60 % in 2019.

So what are the benefits of standing at work?

1. lose weight

Standing burns just 10 % more calories than sitting, according to a study by the Center for Physical Activity and Weight Management Research. The researchers asked 74 people to wear masks for measuring oxygen consumption and conducted a follow-up survey on three groups of participants. They found that sitting participants burned 80 calories an hour, standing participants burned 88 calories an hour, and walking participants burned 210 calories an hour.

Burning an extra 8 calories an hour doesn't seem like a big deal, especially when you consider that many people who stand at their desks don't stay on their feet all day. If you stand at your desk for half a workday and work 8 hours a day, you will burn 32 more calories standing for 4 hours than sitting for 8 hours. If you do this 5 days a week, 44 weeks a year, and multiply by 32 calories, you'll burn an extra 7040 calories in a year (just over 2 pounds, nearly 1 kg; women know that losing 2 pounds is just as important to them How important and difficult the mission is.)

A March 2017 publication in the journal Occupational Medicine explained that standing desks "offer an opportunity to increase energy expenditure throughout the workday." They further explain that "although this small benefit It's modest, accumulating over time could be an important part of a public health strategy to prevent weight gain in people working at desks."

The numbers we just discussed are consistent with the experience of many people who start using a standing desk - they usually lose a little weight, but not a lot. People use more energy standing than sitting, and when they use more energy, they tend to be more active. Be part of an active lifestyle with a standing desk.

Another factor to consider is that when people stand at their desks, they often don't just stand still. It is common for people to move, stretch, squat, and dance while standing at their desks. They also tend to leave their desks more often.

2. productivity improvement

Dan Fois published an experiment in New York Magazine, where he stood for 30 days. The only time he's not standing is when he's sleeping or going to the toilet. Notable among these is his significantly improved productivity. "I've drastically reduced my time-wasting instances, editing and writing more than I can remember in any month," he said.

This experience is not uncommon. Many people notice that when they add standing to their routine, they tend to be more productive. Also, less time is spent on social media and other unproductive tasks.

A study of call center workers found that those who stood on the phone had a 23 % higher success rate than those who sat. The researchers also noticed differences in employees' comfort levels, attitudes toward work, and how they felt about themselves.

The researchers believe this may be because standing increases blood oxygen circulation and improves mental function. For this reason, many large companies offer standing desks for their employees, including Google and Facebook.

A University of Washington study shows that standing up can stimulate creativity and collaboration. At least one reason is that people moved and approached colleagues' desks more frequently when they were standing than when they were sitting.

3. Reduce diabetes, heart disease, cancer, etc.

There is a wealth of research that tells us that prolonged sitting significantly increases the incidence of some of the leading causes of death in the United States. Significant research has been published that finds that a sedentary lifestyle is associated with higher rates of heart disease (the number one cause of death), cancer (the second leading cause of death), and diabetes (the seventh leading cause of death).

• diabetes

According to Dr. I-Min Lee, a professor at Harvard Medical School, prolonged sitting reduces fat and sugar metabolism and increases the risk of diabetes and heart disease. The Australian study found that people who sat for five hours had plasma and glucose levels that were 20 % higher than those who exercised lightly every 20 minutes. Another study found that sitting for most of a 24-hour period reduced the effectiveness of insulin in controlling blood sugar by 40%. Sitting for six hours a day for two weeks caused LDL and other fatty substances to rise, while the enzymes that break them down decreased.

Sitting time was also associated with larger waist circumference, BMI, systolic blood pressure, fasting triglycerides, and HDL cholesterol. Olivia Judson, an evolutionary biologist and researcher in biology at Imperial College London, says these are "the first steps on the road to diabetes".

• heart disease

One study, dating from 1953, found that bus conductors who stood all day halved the risk of heart disease-related death compared with drivers who sat all day. Subsequent studies confirmed the original research. A comparative study of 18 different studies found that a sedentary lifestyle was associated with a 90% increased risk of heart disease-related death and a 147% increased risk of cardiovascular events. Another study found that after 3 hours of sitting, arterial dilation was reduced by 50%. Sitting for 10 years or more is thought to increase the risk of heart disease by 64%.

• cancer

Women who sat more than 6 hours a day had a higher risk of cancer (especially for ovarian, breast, endometrial and multiple myeloma cancers) than women who sat 3 hours a day. For men, those who walked or cycled 30 minutes a day without sitting in an office had lower rates of prostate cancer. Sedentary behavior is associated with a higher risk of colon cancer in both men and women. It is estimated that more campaigns could prevent 100,000 cases of breast and colon cancer each year in the United States.

Being sedentary was found to be an independent factor, meaning that your sedentary habits can cause cancer if you are healthy in other areas of your life, even if you don't smoke, you exercise regularly and your lifestyle is healthy.

4. reduce back pain

A study from Minneapolis tested two groups of people, one with a standing desk and one without, for seven weeks. The group with standing desks spent 66 minutes less sitting each day and experienced 54 % less upper back and neck pain.

Experts believe that one of the reasons standing desks can reduce back pain is due to the increased circulation of oxygen and nutrients to the muscles, tendons, and ligaments of the back and neck. Many people who sit all day have poor posture, which can compress nerves, reduce blood flow, and aggravate pressure points.

Using a standing desk does not guarantee less back pain. The causes of back pain are many and in many cases unknown. But experts recommend creating an ergonomic workspace, changing your work posture every 20 minutes (or at least a brisk walk), and moving on (because there's no such thing as a perfect posture, just the next one). A University of Cincinnati study found that when participants changed their posture, shoulder, and back pain decreased significantly.

Remember, when we talk about using a standing desk, we're not talking about standing all day. Experts recommend switching between standing and sitting throughout the day. It is also possible to be inactive most of the time while standing, which is not helpful. Standing for long periods of time can cause tension in the legs and back.

5. The best choice for a healthy office is a standing desk

• Can sit or stand, relieve fatigue

In daily life, the common way of working is to sit and work, but the harm caused by sitting for a long time has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. causing discomfort.

• The desktop is thick, safe, and stable

The desktop is wide and thick, but the lifting speed can be greater than 38mm/s. During the lifting process, it is protected by an anti-collision function, which can effectively prevent safety hazards such as collisions.

• Wide adaptability and high demand

The lifting height can be customized for production and service according to user needs. Whether you are tall or short, the adjustable height meets the needs of different body shapes, and it can be used by adults or children.