Sitting for long hours may cause severe back pain and is a reason for increased blood pressure. To reduce the severe effect standing desks are becoming popular in offices where employees have to be at a desk for long working hours. Here, we will be discussing the common advantages that make standing desks popular.
Reasons For Popularity
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Recently offices have started to switch to standing desks. This is because individuals have begun to prefer standing to sit. “What’s wrong with seated ones?” you might wonder.
Sitting desks can be ergonomically inefficient for a variety of reasons. Let’s take a closer look at some of the main reasons behind desks’ appeal.
1. Promotes Health
We all know about the importance of exercise. But due to a shortage in time, we can hardly perform any. A simple solution to this is standing desks. Standing while working promotes better lower body health and lesser pain in the lower back. You can avoid this problem by using a recliner to relieve back pain in your office.
Thus increasing health benefits. Not only this, but they help in shedding approximately 88 calories per hour. This rate while sitting is just 60 calories per hour.
We do not need to do anything extreme while working, just use standing desks and the calories will get burnt. Isn’t it convenient? Many studies have proven the importance of standing desks at a workplace to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Always choose a good chair to relieve back pain for your standing desks.
2. Hybrid Working Is Easier
It is not uncommon that humans need to stretch their muscles daily to have a healthy muscular life. working with both sitting and standing desks makes this daily dose of body stretch easier.
Many of us have noticed that our feet and legs get numb after sitting in the same position for a long time.
To help with this, switching positions is necessary. Switching between sitting and standing desks helps combat cramps, lower back pains, and fatigue. You can always get a desk converter for a standing desk under your budget to ease your work.
3. Helps In Relieving Back Pain
One of the most important reasons why standing desks are so popular is that it helps with sciatica back pain. Usually, people complain about their back pain which is primarily caused by the sitting posture. And sitting desks contribute to this pain if not elevated it.
Sitting for long hours makes the lower back numb and increases strain on the spinal cord. All of this gets solved if we use standing desks. The regular amount of time spent standing can release the stress on the spinal cord and lower back.
Studies show that after switching to standing desks, people had improvements in their back pain. there was a significant improvement in lower back and neck relief as well. This is because of muscular movement. Regular arm and leg movements can help relieve muscle strain.
4. Improves Work Performance
Standing desks help in increasing the oxygen levels in the brain. Standing for 20 minutes helps with oxygen levels. And this in turn helps by triggering happy enzymes and chemicals.
This creates a happy environment and increases the level of task concentration. It also is beneficial to lighten your work mood keeping you jolly all day long.
Not only this, but desks help reduce mental fatigue and tiredness. This oxygen helps increase metabolism and thus standing desks prove to be beneficial to the corporate world. Moreover do prefer manually controlling standing desk frames. It improves work performance significantly.
5. Help With Obesity
Sitting in the same position for hours can drastically increase your obesity chances. This is due to the decreased secretion of the fat-burning enzyme called lipase.
This has led to an increase in the obesity index all around the world. Constant sitting also leads to decreased exercise.
Especially people with diabetes have a negative impact due to less exercise. in such cases, a desk comes in handy.
Obesity is becoming one of the most important diseases and to tackle this problem we need to start exercising. The initial step would be using desks whenever possible to increase calorie consumption. You can install a good yoga chair under your standing desk
6. Normalize Glucose
Studies have found that standing after your lunch for just a couple of minutes can help with breaking glucose. This will help your metabolism rate and give you a healthy body
Some studies also have shown that standing for an adequate amount of time can also reduce your chances of type 2 diabetes.
From an orthopedic point of view, standing is better for your body as it improves the neck, back, and lower back.
Are They Ergonomic?
When choosing a desk for your work, ergonomics is very important. There are some key boxes that your standing station must check before buying one.
- Ergonomically, the setup must be roughly parallel to the ground without having to overstretch your hands or legs. This helps maintain a neutral position and increases body productivity.
- The workstation must have an adjustable desk. This will help your eyes and neck maintain a certain angle while working. If this angle is not maintained, it causes stress in the neck and fatigue in the eyes.
- The height of the monitor should be between 0-35 degrees from below your line of sight. This will ensure maximum exposure without causing a strain on your eye
- Make sure that the desk is not too high for you. The normal platform height should be at your standing elbow position.
- Most importantly, while working try to have an erect spine. Work without slouching or bending of the backbone to ensure maximum productivity.
- Make sure that your elbows are 90 to 120 degrees with your body. The same way like you sit. This will ensure that no stress is caused on your shoulder muscles.
- The desk must have a footrest. This will make sure that you can shift weight whenever needed from one leg to the other. People with obesity can find it difficult to shift weights from one leg to other. At such times, a footrest comes in handy.
- While setting the standing desk, make sure that none of the computer cables or wires makes it difficult to adjust the desk. Hence while placing the desk in your office, make sure it is in a safer corner.
There are some great ergonomically set up-standing desks to boost your performance.
How Long Should A Person Stand For?
Doctors recommend standing for 5 minutes every 1 hour of sitting. This can be variable and a person can switch between sitting and standing every 20-45 minutes as well.
Many doctors recommend the exact time based on your physical activities, nature of your work, and body routine.
If you are new to these desks, start with just 10 minutes if standing. And then build your way up to your goal. Just like gyms, start slow and then work your way up.
It is also important to take breaks even while standing to release eye fatigue and strain. This will also help with lower back strain and neck pain.
How To Select?
While choosing the best standing desk, certain things need to be checked which are mentioned below:
1. Height Range
This is one of the most important things. If many people in the office are using the same standing desk in rotation, the height range must be appropriate. It should be easily adjustable and comfortable while working.
Noise: While changing the adjustments make sure that it does not create a lot of noise. This will disturb the other employees in the office. So, noise is a crucial factor
2. Speed
The speed at which the desk raises and lowers is also important. A desk taking too much time for adjustments is not feasible in a working environment.
3. Cost
A very important deciding factor. There are standing desks available between the price range of $120 to $700. Choosing a price range that is in your budget is very important to decide the best standing desk
Mobility: The desk should be easily movable from one place to another. This ensures the change in scenery while working to enhance productivity.
4. Leg Fatigue
Many people cannot stand for a long time without getting tired. Due to their weight, they may experience leg fatigue and dullness. A good standing desk must have a footrest or foot support at such times. Moreover, you can put a lightweight treadmill under your desk too.
Weight: weight plays a critical role. The desk must be heavy enough to carry your laptops and computers, but light enough to adjust easily.
Final Talk
We hope that this article might have helped you switch from sitting desks to standing desks. And more important the factors that you should consider before buying a standing desk. There has never been a better time to consider this switch since the pandemic. And we all put our health first. We hope that you make an informed decision based on the above factors! After all, health is wealth.
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