How Long Should You Stand At Standing Desks?

People who have to stand at a standing desk for long hours shift often neglect the hours one can stand while working. Standing for too long may cause severe pain or other knee-related problems. One should take initial gaps and sit for a few minutes during Break time. Here we are going to discuss how long should you stand at standing desks or how to prevent major problems of standing.

How Long You Should Stand Per Day?

Ideally, you can stand at a standing desk for about 30 to 60 minutes at once. In order to reap some benefit, one should at least stand for 30 minutes. This much duration will not put a load on your body. However, you should slowly build a habit and not directly put your body through that.

In a day, one should try to alternate between sitting and standing. So if you stand for 2 hours, you should ideally rest your body by sitting for one hour.

In a day, it depends on how long you can push yourself to stand at once. Always remember to not overdo it as it may cause others problems. It can cause muscle pain, back pain, joint pain.

Extreme effects include chronic venous disturbances, lower back stiffness. They also can cause complications in pregnant women.

Research has shown that a ratio of 1:1 or 1:2 for standing to sit is ideal for one stretch. This means that for every one hour you stand, one or two hours should be spent sitting. Some jobs even require standing for 8 hours. This is called prolonged standing. Some people might have jobs just around their desks.

While some might have manual jobs that require them to move around the place. For Eg. When working in an office, you are talking, moving for documents, making phone calls.

This way you are allowing movement in your body and not standing still. This also implies that they are not solely standing for 8 hours, there is always some or other movement.

Sometimes when people take breaks, while sitting they feel they don’t get that much work done. It tends to make one is a little lazy.

Some tips to avoid that are-

• If you drive by a car try parking it at a little more distance than usual. This way you can incorporate some other type of movement.
• When taking calls, instead of standing at the desk, you can take walks.
• Prefer the desks with privacy panels.

Does Standing During Day Help In Burning Calories?

As we know standing does have a positive effect as compared to sitting. But it also burns twice as many calories as any person sitting would. It prevents their feet from swelling. According to popular research, if you burn one calorie sitting in a minute.

Then you would burn two standing and four walkings. As stated above standing for long periods puts pressure on your joints, muscles. Especially in obese people, the legs tend to swell as the body weight is put on the legs.

What Do You Mean By Prolonged Standing?

Standing by itself does not have any bad health hazards. Standing for a long period without any rest or any proper support is prolonged standing. When you tend to stand for prolonged periods it causes numerous health problems. Some of them are muscles pain, lower back pains, muscle fatigue. Also causes neck stiffness, foot swelling, and many other complications.

There are various professions where prolonged standing is observed. Doctors, salesman machine operators many others have long-standing hours. The body is also affected by the position and arrangement of the work style. When a person has to perform different tasks, he will change position and cause activity. Sometimes they also face restrictions due to space. Therefore limit the body movements.

Effects Of Prolonged Standing During Day:

a. Heart Disease

Research says that people who stand at work are more likely to develop heart diseases. This fact also needs to take into account various factors.

These include age, gender, marital status, ethnicity. It also includes health-related issues like diabetes, hypertension, anxiety disorders. A large part that influences these is the type of work an individual does.

Heart diseases are also affected by other lifestyle habits of individuals. People who smoke or consume alcohol. Hence standing will further increase their body problems.

b. Muscle Fatigue

While standing a lot of blood is delivered to your feet as they are holding up the body. This also causes muscles to become weak. They in turn swell and cause difficulty in movements.

c. Dilated Veins

The venous system becomes vulnerable. The veins expand and dilate due to the constant pull due to gravity while standing. The legs overall lose their power. Sometimes veins also tend to bulge.

d. Joint Pain

The lubrication between joints wears off due to standing for long periods. Also creates problems in movement.

e. Exhaustion

The body tends to lose energy which leads to a general loss of function.

Is Standing For 8 Hours Not Good For The Body?

We always hear sitting for too long is bad. But standing for too long can also be harmful. Standing for 8 hours a day can be a little too much if frequent breaks aren’t taken. Recent studies have shown that one can aim to stand for 4 hours if they also sit for 4. This can be achieved by alternating every 1-2 hours. Alternating between sitting and standing during the day will keep the metabolism running.

Usually, metabolism reduces when you sit after meals. This happens as the muscles are relaxed and you are not doing any work. But when you try to stand or walk around, the fat is prevented from building up.

This way it also allows digestion to take place properly. Anytime you tend to do activities against gravity, the body becomes active. This makes your muscles and bones stronger. However, try to not sit all day or not stand all day.

Comfortable Minimum Height

The thought of switching to a standing desk is the first step towards better health. Having a work desk that is perfectly suitable for your job and body is important. Usually, the best height is elbow level. This means it should measure the height from the floor to the bottom of your folded elbow.

The average height up to 5’11 can opt for 44-45 inches. However, it also depends on your body proportions. Now people are also considering adjustable desks. These can be adjusted at your convenience. For instant when you decide to sit for some time they can be lowered.

Various body angles need to be considered before setting an adjustable desk. Head, neck, wrist, feet should be considered. Sometimes the height may also be varied depending on the shoes you choose. Adjustable desks allow you to change positions as per your requirements. You should get yourself an adjustable standing desk frame.

Also now anti-fatigue mats are available. This allows standing time to be more comfortable. They are designed in such a way that they provide cushioning effect. Some are made in a way that movement on it will enhance blood circulation.

When working with screen- The position of placement of screen is very important. It should protect your eyes and neck. The eye level should match the end of the window. The keyboard should also be placed correctly to prevent discomfort to the hands. The display should be placed at a distance of at least 25 inches from the eyes to prevent straining. One should always maintain a good back posture while sitting.

For How Many Hours I Can Stand Still?

As mentioned earlier, one can stand for 2 hours depending on one’s body capacity. Usually, four hours is considered optimal but it should be alternated with sitting.

It is very important to build a tolerance for standing slowly. Be it 20 minutes a day or 2 hours a day. It will be easy to start early. Do not overstrain. Always take breaks and try to move while standing.

Try stretching, and walking whenever time allows. Always distribute your body weight on the balls of your feet. Avoid keeping your knees stretched to relieve pressure on the hips.

Which Is Better: Stand or Sit?

This is a debate that has been going on. Both have their advantages and disadvantages.

Effects Of Sitting: It is largely dependent on the amount of time spent sitting. Also depends on the posture. Some effects of prolonged sitting on health are:

• Muscles are weakened.
• Reduced blood flow causing clots and discomfort.
• Lower back pains due to poor posture.
• Increased risks of heart diseases, diabetes, and obesity.

Effects Of Standing: standing requires more energy and effort. But when done for more time it can cause negative effects.

• Discomfort and lowered reaction time
• The strain on muscles.

Preventions To Avoid Problems:

1. Move Your Body Frequently

Standing is at least known combat over negative effects of sittings. Some ways to always keep your body active while working is:

2. Taking more breaks

This allows you to stretch, walk and move and will prevent you from becoming lazy. Also will refresh your mind and rebuild energy.

3. Don’t stand for too long

Avoid prolonged standing during work hours. It is known to create a negative impact on your body and mind. It reduces the physical strength of our body and weakens muscles over time.

4. Never keep the same posture for too long

Be it standing or sitting, never remain in the same posture for too long. One tends to often hunch over the screen when using a screen. Hunching over for a long time created a strain on the shoulders and neck. This leads to neck stiffness and other movement problems. Always check your posture while standing.

5. Preset height

Sometimes lowering and raising the desk can be a bit exhausting. Some desks come with 3 or 4 preset heights. These can be customized exactly according to your requirements. This helps you save a lot of time and you can avoid putting manual effort every time you need to adjust.

6. Use arm support options

Sometimes while working, the hands tend to not get enough support and create problems. Arm supports come into play. They provide a cushioning effect and reduce pressure on your wrist and hand. You can place it with your dominant hand and prevent neck and back problems.

Final Talk

Using a standing desk is considered beneficial for your health. The above mentioned are all things you should keep in your mind when you work with a standing desk. However, anything that is done in excess can lead to problems. Always be mindful of your body and never pressurize it.