5 Reasons Why We Love Standing Desk (And You Should Too)

Sitting and standing throughout the day will have tremendous effects on your physical and mental health. Those who use a standing desk converter properly are often more energized, more comfortable, and overall more focused at work. When you alternately sit and stand throughout the day, your muscles are more active as it creates dynamic movements throughout the human body.

The Risks of a Sedentary Lifestyle

An article published in 2017 discussed various adverse effects of a sedentary lifestyle. Included on these are increasing the risk of getting cancers, contributing to stress and anxiety, causing weight issues, and increasing cholesterol levels.

Another article shared by Medline Plus mentioned stressed that an inactive lifestyle can be alleviated by some helpful tips in your lifestyle. Some of the tips include making sure to still keep yourself active while working and avoiding unhealthy habits, such as having bad posture.

What are the most commonly used ergonomic equipment and accessories?

It is always interesting to know some innovative and useful tools that can help workers improve their efficiency and productivity at work. Today’s ergonomic tools and accessories, include but not limited to the following:

#1 Standing Desks

Standing desks are one of the most helpful equipment every workstation should have. We have published several articles tackling the benefits of standing desks, primarily avoiding a sedentary lifestyle. One of these articles talked about why standing desks are becoming mainstream in the work environment. We’ve mentioned:

“The majority of the jobs today require sitting which leads to a sedentary lifestyle. Sitting stabilizes the body since it uses less energy than standing. You sit when you carry out motor skills like driving, computer-related works, and creative drawings. This will foster less movement and health complications. Studies have indicated a probable increase in the risks of colon cancer, kidney diseases, and cardiovascular diseases due to extensive sitting. Ergonomists have long suggested the use of standing desks and the introduction of sit and stand workstations as part of office design. When used properly, standing desks can be beneficial to both the user and the company.”

The continuous innovation and breakthroughs when it comes to workplace ergonomics, specifically to equipment and accessories, will inspire workers to aim for higher quality of work.

#2 Desk Converters

Desk converters are attached to a new or an existing desk to achieve the right height of your desk. This will ensure that you will not slouch and not have neck pain.

#3 Ergonomic Chair

Avoid back pain by using an ergonomic chair with features like lumbar support, arm rest, and adjustable height settings.

#4 Ergonomic Vertical Mouse

An ergonomic vertical mouse will help you to get rid of the risk of having Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and other repetitive strain injuries.

#5 LED Desk Lamp

Proper lighting is necessary to work in a comfortable way. This can be achieved by using an LED desk lamp.

#6 Ergonomic Keyboard Tray

An ergonomic keyboard will help you free from strain and fatigue due to long hours of typing or working on computers.

#7 Monitor Mounts

A common cause of having migraine headaches is due to computer monitors not properly set up. If your monitor is too low or too high, this might lead you to slouching that may cause neck pain and back pain.

#8 Anti-Fatigue Mat

When using a standing desk, you should also consider using an anti-fatigue mat. This is to prevent being less productive due to fatigue caused by standing for several hours.

The Impact of Using Ergonomic Equipment

The use of  ergonomically-designed equipment such as standing desk converters gives you the necessary movement to shift between sitting and standing. There are various studies showing that alternating between sitting and standing will help reverse the harmful effects of prolonged sitting. Improve your lifestyle by enjoying the benefits of standing desks and other ergonomic equipment.

The following are some of the benefits you can achieve:

#1 PROMOTE A HEALTHIER BRAIN

Muscles in action pump fresh blood and oxygen through the brain which triggers the release of the brain and mood-enhancing chemicals. When living a sedentary life for a long time everything slows down, including brain function. A study published by the Oxford University Press journal called "Brain," reported that standing up activates cerebral circulation.

The study found that standing with both feet increased circulation in the visual association cortex, midbrain, and anterior and posterior vermis parts of the brain which improve cognitive performance. What better way to make sure that standing with one foot or both can be done routinely in a day’s work? Surely, the physical activity resulting from the use of a standing desk will contribute to a healthier brain.

#2 LOSE WEIGHT

The lessened physical activity caused by a sedentary lifestyle may lead to obesity. Evidence supports the claim that when people spend a lot of time sitting down, it increases the chances of suffering from obesity. A study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology shows that men and women who spent the least time sitting were leaner, more likely to have never smoked cigarettes, and more likely to be employed.

Repeatedly moving from a sitting workstation to a standing workstation speeds up metabolism, which burns more calories and gives you more energy to finish the day constructively.

#3 INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY

Business Insider conducted a survey to test the claim that standing desk boosts productivity. The staff used the app DeskTime to track people sitting and standing. The results were compared with the productivity that they had over those who do not sit and stand. The result indicates that standing yielded up to 10% more productivity.

Moreover, standing desks allows users to focus on one task at a time. A standing desk converter eliminates the urge to multitask which is a productivity killer. When done properly, stand desks give you the edge to finish a job ahead of time with lesser distractions from emails, websites, and unnecessary chat or call.

#4 INCREASED ENERGY

Stand up! To encourage alertness during class hours, seminars and workshops the speaker always gives break time that includes standing, stretching, and stimulating activities. It is because they are aware that prolonged sitting will make their participants sleepy, respond slowly, and participate halfheartedly. In the same manner, prolonged sitting during office hours makes workers sluggish and unproductive.

A study shows that when employees are using a standing desk converter it creates periodic movement. Alternating between sitting and standing makes 88%  of people more energized, 86% more comfortable. 72% healthier and 79% more focused. It is the movement between sitting and standing that makes a difference.

FF Venture Capital found that standing leads to an increase of willingness to share ideas among colleagues, which is the reason why the firm has outfitted its meeting rooms with standing desks.

#5 PREVENTION OF DISEASES

A good number of researchers discover a link between a sedentary lifestyle to the increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, weight gain leading to obesity, diabetes, and the dreaded colon cancer. Also, extended sitting has been linked to high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol.

Research shows that threading periods of sitting with significant periods of standing addresses many of the long-term adverse effects of sitting. Regular movements, sitting at a standing desk,as well as stretching, and a walk around the office boosts natural antioxidants that kill cell-damaging and potentially cancer-causing free radicals.