Standing Desk, also called the Sit-Stand Desk, has become increasingly popular in Singapore as more people are now aware of what ergonomics is and are looking for ways to make their office more ergonomic. Even though research into the standing desk is still in the early stages, it appears that using a standing desk may have a positive impact on one’s health.
Standing Desk Helps Improve Mood And Energy Levels
A 7-weeks study was conducted with participants who were introduced to using the standing desk at work and they reported less stress, fatigue, depression with more energy and vigour as compared to people who do not use them. When this same group of participants went back to the sitting desk, their overall mood returned to baseline level – the similar level before the study was conducted.
Standing Desk May Boost Productivity
A typical concern with using the standing desk is that it may hinder one’s daily tasks such as reading and typing. , it was found that there has been no positive or negative impact on their reading or typing. The ability to focus and remaining on tasks for one who uses a standing desk was reported to have improved. Due to the improved mood and energy levels that were discussed previously, the standing desk may appear to boost productivity rather than hinders it.
Standing Desk Reduces Back Pain
Backache is common when one sits for too long a period without moving, and this is especially so for office workers who tend to sit for more than 8 hours a day in the office. The back pain is often caused by postural stress. A few studies have been conducted on people with long-term back pain to determine whether the standing desk helps in reducing backache caused by prolonged sitting. In one study, it was reported that there was up to 32% improvement in the lower back pain while another one finds improvement of 54% in reduced neck and upper back pain after using the standing desk for about a month.
Standing Desk Lowers Your Risk of Weight Gain and Obesity
When you sit down for a long period of time in the office, you are likely to gain weight due to the lack of physical activities done. Research has shown that people who stand or walk throughout the day burn more calories than those who remain seated.
Standing Desk May Lower Your Blood Sugar Levels
Our blood sugar levels tend to rise a small amount after every meal. Another study was conducted with a group of office workers who stand for 180 minutes or 3 hours after lunch and it was found that this blood sugar level increase was reduced by 43% as compared to those sitting for the same amount of time. Both groups had the same amount of steps movement, indicating that the reduced in blood sugar level was due to standing instead of any physical movement
Standing Desk Lowers Your Risk of Heart Disease
As standing lowers the risk of weight gain, obesity and blood sugar levels, it reduces the risk of heart disease too. It is thought that sitting for too long slows down metabolism, which affects the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar and blood pressure.
Standing Desk May Extend Your Life Expectancy
As sitting for too long has negative effects on our health as discussed above, standing more may reduce these negative health effects and brings a positive impact on our health coupled with regular exercises and healthy diets, thus extending our life expectancy.
Having a standing desk in your office may do good than you’d imagined, hence consider getting a standing desk yourself to make your workplace more ergonomic. Check out our different types of standing desks available, including the electric standing desk, sit stand desk converters and the ergonomic laptop desk. Read more on the guide to getting the best standing desk for you.
