Standing desks are now becoming commonplace but have been available for many years. One reason for their new found popularity is that people are realizing the benefits of a standing desk.
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tudies show that people who are sedentary or sit for long periods of time are more prone to heart disease, type II diabetes, and may even have a shorter life expectancy. Using a standing desk can often mitigate these issues.
Standing while working, even for part of the day, can have a positive impact on your health and body. With so many standing desk options now available, it’s easier than ever to get into the standing habit. Many users report that just 30 minutes a day has a positive impact on their health, energy levels, and much more. Using a standing desk has a number of benefits.
1. Reduces Back Pain
Back pain is something that many adults will experience over their lifetimes, and one of the greatest complaints of office workers who are sitting behind a desk all day.
Many studies have explored the impact of using a standing desk on office workers with long-term back pain. The “Take-a-Stand Project” found that participants who spent an average of 66 minutes of their work day standing experienced a 54% reduction in upper back and neck pain. In just over an hour a day, the participants of the “Take-a-Stand Project” had dramatic results.
2. Lowers your Risk of Heart Disease
Researchers have been studying the benefits of standing for more than 60 years. In 1953 a study of bus conductors found that individuals who stood all day were fifty percent less likely to die of heart disease compared to bus drivers who were seated.
Sixty years later, a comparison of 18 studies with more than 750,000 participants came to the same conclusion as the original bus conductor study. Their findings were that a sedentary lifestyle has been linked to a 90% increase in the risk of cardiovascular mortality and a 147% increase in the risk of cardiovascular events as compared to an active lifestyle.
3. Lowers your Risk of Weight Gain
We all know that weight gain is caused by consuming more calories than the body is burning. More than 44% of office workers say they have gained weight in their present job, and 53% of those said they believed it was due to sitting at a desk all day. What if you could burn calories while working with little to no extra effort?
By standing instead of sitting, you can reduce the risk of weight gain by burning about 50 extra calories an hour. If you were to stand for 3 hours each work day it would equal out to 750 calories a week. Over the course of a full year that would equal about 30,000 extra calories burnt off, or about 8 lbs of fat. In terms of activity levels, those 30,000 calories would be the equivalent of running 10 marathons a year!
Whether you’ve been considering a standing desk or simply want to improve your overall health, it’s important to consider what a standing desk might do for you. There’s plenty of research showing the benefits of a standing desk so we encourage you to learn more (ex: Time article on standing desk benefits) and speak to the doctors at Washington Wellness Center to see if a standing desk could improve your situation.
Tune in next month as we share 3 additional benefits of using a standing desk.