The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Standing Desks

You’ve seen the new woman working in a nearby office with a weird standing desk thingy, right? You’ve wondered about the advantages of standing desks, and carried on walking.

Standing desks are the latest trend in desk swag. OK, admittedly desk and chair trends don’t get that exciting – but could this be worth considering? It has medical benefits, right? Yes, it does. But it could also take you to the other side of the scale…

On one hand, research suggests that sitting all day at your desk comes with:

• Increased risk of heart disease
• Increased neck, back and shoulder pain
• Higher probability of weight gain and diabetes
• Reduced mood and energy levels
• Reduced productivity levels

However, recent findings show that buying that new standing desk and switching to it comes with:

• Increased discomfort
• Muscle fatigue
• Lower limb swelling
• Deterioration of reaction time and mental state, caused by fewer nutrients and blood reaching your brain

Oh, dear. Should we be returning our new expensive desk stands? No way – they’re a really great invention and will bring a lot of great health benefits to a lot of people. Still, like with many things, they need to be used in moderation.

Moreover, the best solution where we can find a balance between the two is literally to divide our time between the two. And hey, why not throw in some exercise?

Our recommendation would be to spend time sitting and standing. First, try standing and working for 30 minutes. Secondly, sit down and work for 20 minutes. Lastly, for the remaining 10 minutes in each hour, go for a short walk. Get some fresh air, or even do some stretches (if you’re at home where people won’t think you’re a weirdo!) and you’ll probably feel a hundred times better and be much more productive.