Sedentary behavior, such as sitting at work all day, has serious and well-documented negative effects on health. The risks of getting cancer, cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes, and premature mortality increase among those who consume most of their waking hours seated.
Naturally, it hasn’t helped that so much work done in workplaces nowadays involves sitting and hunching over laptops or PCs. The human body was not made to sit still and conduct repetitive tasks like this. Thus, to do so would be against its very nature.
In addition to getting up from your desk now and then and walking about the room, there are new designs in office furniture that are specifically intended to get you up and about more. Desks that may be adjusted in height are common in today’s offices. They encourage changing your body’s position and posture at regular intervals, which is good for your circulation and mental acuity.
Below, we’ve outlined how height-adjustable workstations help users’ health.
Standing Reduces Unwanted Weight Gain and Obesity
Consuming more calories than one burns off inevitably leads to weight gain. Therefore, weight loss occurs when more calories are burned than are consumed.
While exercising is the most efficient strategy to burn calories rapidly, standing rather than sitting can also be useful.
Studies have shown that the same amount of time spent standing burns more than 170 more calories than sitting for the same period. Standing at your desk in the afternoons can help you burn nearly an extra thousand calories every week.
Sitting for extended periods is associated with an increased risk of weight gain and metabolic disorders, and this calorie discrepancy may be a contributing factor.
Standing Desks May Reduce Back Pain
A typical complaint of those who sit at desks all day is back ache.
Several studies have been conducted on workers with chronic back pain to see if standing desks would help. Several of these studies have found that standing desks significantly lessen the chronic backache that comes with sitting for long periods.
Participants who used standing workstations for many weeks reported a 32% reduction in lower back discomfort. According to another CDC-published research, using a sit-stand workstation for just four weeks was shown to lessen upper back and neck discomfort by 54%. And in just two weeks after their removal, the benefits of working at sit-stand desks were undone.
Standing Might Reduce Risk Of Heart Disease
It’s well acknowledged that sedentary lifestyles increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Standing was initially advocated as helpful for cardiovascular health in 1953.
Research indicated that bus conductors who stood the whole day had halved the chance of heart disease-related fatalities as their seated driver counterparts.
Since then, researchers have learned a great deal more about the dangers of sitting for long periods and now believe that it can raise the risk of heart disease by as much as 147%.
It’s so bad that you might be unable to undo the damage of a day of sitting even if you work out hard for an hour. There’s no denying the positive effects of logging more hours on your feet on cardiovascular health.
Standing Desks Boost Mood And Energy
Standing workstations improve health and productivity and more office fitouts are making them a key feature of the design process
One 7-week study found that those who used standing workstations during the workday felt less distress and fatigue than those who sat the whole time.
In addition, 87 % of people who work at standing desks say they have more energy and enthusiasm during the day. When they returned to their previous workstations, their general attitudes were normal.
These results are consistent with previous studies that have linked sitting time to an elevated risk of anxiety and depression.
Standing Desks May Increase Productivity
Some worry that standing workstations will make it harder for them to type at their desks.
It may take some time to adjust to standing during the afternoon shift, but research suggests that standing desks don’t significantly alter the performance of regular job duties.
Sixty young office workers were studied and found that standing at their desks for 4 hours a day had no effect on their typing speed or accuracy. Using a standing desk is more likely to enhance productivity than decrease, given that standing increases mood and vitality.
Standing May Extend Your Life
Researchers have discovered a substantial correlation between too much sitting and a premature mortality rate. This is not unexpected, given the correlation between inactivity and the development of T2DM and cardiovascular illness.
A meta-analysis of 18 research indicated that sitting for long periods increases mortality risk by 49% compared to standing. According to another study, the typical American’s life expectancy might be increased by two years if they sat for fewer than 3 hours every day.
Even though correlation does not show causation, a decent amount of research suggests that spending more time in a standing position may help us live longer.
Also Read: Why Should You Opt-In for Specialized Café Furniture for Your Café?
