The Benefits of Standing Height Desks

The Benefits of Standing Height Desks

What You Miss When You Sit

As if it wasn’t a huge surprise, sitting all day is not good for you. Alternatively standing all day all has its draw backs as well. However scientist, researchers, and product designers have come up with some pretty creative ways to keep you moving while working. Some people have even gone to have a treadmill desk, where you walk and work, to the human hamster wheel. Standing height tables have become a leading trend in office design. Any business that holds their employees’ well being to a high priority has already hopped onto the bandwagon. Many companies especially technology, IT, and creative entrepreneurs have already embraced the standing height desk.

The average office worker spends five hours and 41 mins out of their work day, sitting down. That doesn’t include the time you spend commuting to work in your car or on public transit. And it especially doesn’t include the time you sit down to “relax” from all that sitting down you did at work today. In the event you are saying “that isn’t me, I go to gym for an hour every day”, I have some bad news.  Even with the extra physical activity it doesn’t make-up for “prolonged sedentary time” that is causing your body more harm than you think.

Dr. James Levine, out of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester has been calling this the “sitting disease” and has even compared sitting all day to smoking. Dr. Levine helped initiate a new study called “Work-fit” where they replaced 30 desks with height adjustable desks. This study helped initiate tons of similar studies worldwide that are still ongoing.

Now does this mean that sitting down is truly as bad as smoking? Dr. Levine says that just by standing you burn 3 times as many calories as you do sitting. The muscles that are required for you to stand trigger some of the most important processes related to breaking down fats and sugars. When you sit down this whole process is ceased.

In addition to flexibility and cutting edge design, there are many physical and psychological benefits of standing height desks. Below are only some of the reasons why I think you should implement a height adjustable desk in your workspace.

Relaxes Muscleinfo graphic Benefits of Standing Tension

After a long day we all complain about a sore neck or back. This is caused by us slouching over our keyboards. The constant tension in our back and shoulders causes tight muscles that ache even when the work day is over.

And if your one of those peoples with insanely good posture you probably still get these aches. This is due to improper desk set-up, either you’re straining to see your monitor, or maybe your keyboard is at the wrong height. This causes your body to work in unnatural positions that also lead to strained muscles. A properly measured standing height desk can resolve these issues. Please refer image for proper standing desk set-up.

 Fights Fatigue

It may seem crazy to think, but standing actually allows you to have more energy than when you’re sitting down. This is because your blood sugar is stable; your circulation is improved, thus getting more oxygen to the brain. Additionally, as stated earlier the muscles you contract when you stand play an important role in breaking down sugars and fats which in turn speed up your metabolism. To summarize this makes it easier for your body to burn off the restless energy you get when you’re writing the 20th e-mail of the day about the dishwasher in the staff lounge.

 

 Raises Performance Levels

 

Right off the bat, researchers have found that when someone is standing they are up to 10% more productive when they are sitting down and working.  As we sit we find ourselves thinking that it is easier to multi-task. However, as science has told us, multitasking is the biggest productivity killer. Working while standing eliminates that urge to multi task because you’re focusing on that one task you need to complete. Standing while you work can be implemented as a rewarding yourself for completing tasks. For example, say you need to get a report completed by the end of the week. Set yourself the goal of “you get to sit when your done”. It is very highly unlikely you are going to be wasting time.

 

To summarize, height adjustable tables are ergonomic, healthy, productive, and super hip. If this is something you think that will benefit you and your colleagues but your not sure how well this will work? Maybe suggest implementing a communal work area of 2-3 desks (pending on office size) to test it out. A communal work area can lead to collaboration and adaptability to your  team.

Here at JM&C we can help design, remodel, or simply supply you with the desks from our variety of suppliers. Check out our furnishings website to see what sparks your imagination.

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