If you’ve been researching new home office desks you might have found yourself wondering, are standing desks worth it?
It’s hard to know whether standing desks live up to the hype before you have one of your own. There’s a lot of noise out there about standing desks, but not always clear answers.
That’s why we hope that this guide helps you get to grips with the potential benefits of standing desks for your health, body and mind. That way you can really assess if standing desks are worth it for you.
Let’s get this guide to all things standing desks started.
6 Science-Backed Standing Desk Health Benefits
We know it’s easy to make claims on the internet with no real substance. That’s why all of the standing desk health benefits that we’ll explore below are backed by independently reviewed scientific studies. That way, if you decide a standing desk is worth it, you’ll make your decision based on facts – not just hype.
ImproveD Blood Circulation
You’ve probably heard the phrase ‘sitting is the new smoking’. Well, there’s truth to it. Unfortunately for office workers, there’s a clear link between sitting for most of the day and increased risk from cardiovascular diseases like stroke and heart attack. These studies show that prolonged time spent sitting is a risk because blood is allowed to pool in the body.
Anything you can do to be more active during your working day can help with your cardiovascular health. Intermittent standing by using a height adjustable desk is one way to encourage blood flow.
ReduceD Back Pain
Circulation isn’t the last of the standing desk health benefits on this list. It might sound too good to be true, but the research does consistently prove that standing desks can reduce back pain. Studies found that using a sit stand workstation – in other words, a standing desk – reduced upper back and neck pain by 54% for participants.
IncreaseD Energy & Focus
Do you ever struggle to maintain your energy levels throughout the day? A standing desk could help with that. Research has proven that standing desks can increase vigour and energy by up to a whopping 87%.
When it comes to maintaining your energy levels at work, every little thing you can do to enhance your wellbeing and mood can help. Otherwise, you might face yourself recovering from burnout as a consequence of not looking after yourself.
EnhanceD Productivity
Are standing desks good for your productivity? You bet. Working from a standing desk has been shown to enhance performance compared to performing the same tasks at a sitting desk. Staff at the call centre where the study was done actually ended up being 45% more productive at standing desks, to be precise.
Worried about whether standing up rather than sitting down might impact your typing? You needn’t be. One study into this particular concern found that workers made no more or less errors than usual when tasked with using a standing desk.
Standing Desks Burn Calories
Now let’s be clear, we’re not saying that a standing desk is a substitute for a healthy diet and regular exercise. However, one additional standing desk health benefit is that standing, over sitting, helps to burn extra calories during the working day. The average man can burn roughly 84 extra calories and the average woman can burn 42 if they use a standing desk throughout their entire 7-hour working day.
Full-time British workers work around 260 days a year. If they were to spend every day at a standing desk, men would expect to burn an extra 21,840 calories and 10,920 calories for women, which is a standing desk health benefit that’s not to be sniffed at.
Lower Blood Sugar Spikes
Still wondering, are standing desks worth it? These particular standing desk health benefits might be the most impressive. A study found that the participants who returned from lunch and then stood to work for the rest of the working day reduced their blood sugar spike by 43%.
This is really significant because we know that high blood sugar spikes can put people at risk of Type 2 Diabetes. So, by choosing to stand more during your working day you might be taking sensible measures to protect yourself against the onset of diabetes.
Are Standing Desks Worth It for You?
Only you can answer, are standing desks worth it? As we’ve explored extensively, there are so many potential benefits of standing desks waiting to be unlocked that mean that it could be – especially for your health and wellbeing.
One common concern among people is that they won’t use their standing desk enough to make it worth it. As Slouch’s standing desks are fully height adjustable from 730mm – 1180mm, you can start with short amounts of time at your perfect ergonomic standing height and switch back to sitting to build up your stamina.
That way you can ease into using a standing desk and make it part of your daily habits. After all, any break from sitting, however short, is helpful for your body.
How to Get the Best from a Standing Desk
If the standing desk health benefits we’ve covered have made you tempted to try out using a standing desk yourself, make sure you check our handy tips out to get the most from your new work station:
- Make sure that the standing desk you opt for is fully height adjustable. Desks and chairs with adjustable height offer ergonomic functionality, as they allow your equipment to fit comfortably to your body, rather than the other way around.
- Set your standing desk up to be the right height for you. It’s crucial that you find the perfect desk height that allows you to work without hunching over.
- Another tip about getting the right desk height? You’ll know when you have the right standing desk height because your arms will be able to rest at a 90-degree angle and your wrist will sit neutrally on the desktop.
- Ensure that you stand at your standing desk with comfortable, healthy posture. This means standing with your back straight. Your shoulders, hips, knees and ankles should be aligned in a straight line on top of each other.
- If you’re intermittently standing and sitting at a height adjustable desk, you’ll likely still be sitting for extended periods. Make sure you don’t undo the back health benefits of standing desks by using an unergonomic office chair. Pick up a Slouch ergonomic home office chair for the comfiest sit you’ve ever had.
Join the Standing Desk Revolution with Slouch
The clear, research-backed benefits of standing desks means that they’re here to stay and are being adopted by more people than ever. However, that increase in demand also means that there are a lot of shoddy models on the market that aren’t fully height adjustable or simply aren’t built to last. That’s not the case with Slouch’s fully height adjustable standing desks.
Switch seamlessly between sitting and standing at an ergonomically designed desk with soft curves, robust build quality and several contemporary colour options to choose from. Is it time you tried the best standing desk you’ll ever find?
For any questions about our standing desks, just email us at [email protected] and we’ll be in touch with answers.
