The Benefits of Standing-Sitting Desks

Fundamentally, the human body is just not meant to be stationary for long periods of time. The reality is, though, that in our chairs at our desks, is where we find ourselves for the majority of our waking hours.

While our society has become increasingly fitness-conscious, for many, sedentary is still the habit. While this cannot always be avoided in our hyperconnected world – where our livelihoods often demand constant attention to a screen – an inactive state in perpetuity has been proven to play havoc on our bodies and be detrimental to our health.

It’s come to light, though, that even robust sessions of regular exercise may still not be quite enough to counter the health worries that sitting for too long can cause us.

Although not a new piece of tech, standing-sitting desks have increasingly become popular, as their health benefits progressively come to light – the most impressive being the fact that a mere bout of 30 minutes in a four-hour stretch does wonders innumerable to our body harmony.

Not convinced? We’ll elaborate.

Heart health

The biggest scourge of the sedentary lifestyle is the negative impact it has on the heart.

Of course, while cardiovascular exercise is ideal for heart strength, it has been discovered that standing while working as much as possible, alleviates undue pressure on heart function. It’s easy to deduce when lending some thought to it. A body folded in sitting for up to 8 hours a day obviously will constrict vessels at certain junctures, hindering blood flow.

A body at upright – even if not moving intensely – opens up to promote efficiency in blood flow, where build-ups and blockages are avoided.

To drive home this point, here’s a sobering statistic: a sedentary lifestyle has been linked to 90% increase in cardiovascular depreciation. In counter, it’s been confirmed that those who stand all day, halve their chance of becoming susceptible to that depreciation.

Weight gain

There often aren’t enough hours in the day to exercise properly, eat right, or even simply to concentrate on undergoing a modicum of activity that’s far removed from an office chair and desk.

So, ditch the chair.

Sit-to-stand desks promote movement, even if in small amounts.

As you stand, you use musculature in the legs and back to maintain posture. This, along with the inevitable shifting granted by the lack of confinement to a chair, immediately burns calories – even as you think you can’t possibly be doing so.

In fact, a careerbuilder.com article has pinned the number of calories burned to up to 50 a day. Meaning that while you’re front and centre at your standing-sitting desk, just standing three hours a day, will burn 750 calories in a week.

Happiness

Long stretches of sitting result in longer stretches of low moods.

It’s easy to take this point. Our bodies have evolved to move. It stands to reason, then, that if they don’t, the fundamental engine that drives said bodies – the brain – may become affected in the negative.

Across the board, those who have joined the sit to stand desk movement, have reported increases in general happiness, well-being, and productivity.

So, what is a sitting-standing desk?

Simply put, the sit to stand desk is an adjustable workstation. The apparatus can be raised or lowered, according to a given need, can accommodate the use of an office chair in the sitting position, and all with the customisation and storage features of regular desks.

As previously mentioned, the notion of the sitting-standing desk isn’t a novel one. Much has been observed by way of the countless benefits being reported by those who have given it a go. In these times of a global pandemic, though, health and well-being in the workplace have come front of mind for both business owners and employees. Although not for everyone, the option of the sit to stand desk may just be another facet that can be added to your employee health offering. Sure, it may take a bit of time to catch on, but the concept could very well be the next step in promoting physical, metabolic, and mental health awareness, and the prolongment thereof, for your people.

Click here to find out more about our sitting-standing desk options.