Standing desks have become increasingly popular as a way to counteract the negative health effects of prolonged sitting. While standing all day is not healthier than sitting all day, regularly alternating between sitting and standing positions provides postural shifts that can reduce inactivity. Studies have found various benefits to standing desks such as improved focus, concentration, productivity and cognitive performance compared to sitting desks. A height-adjustable desk allows users to easily switch between sitting and standing positions to stay comfortable throughout the workday, maintaining productivity and flow. As standing requires more small muscle contractions and balance, it places slightly more cognitive demand on the brain, leading to better performance on cognitive tests. Many employers now offer standing desks to employees due to their positive effects on health
1. Work, Productivity, and Health Benefits of Standing Desks
Office jobs have become increasingly sedentary in the past few decades,
contributing to an overall epidemic of sitting. Do the benefits of standing at work
make standing full-time a healthier option? The truth is that standing all day is really
no healthier than sitting all day. The key is to find the best of both worlds: a standing
desk or a height-adjustable sit-stand desk.
Switching between sitting and standing guarantees shifts in a posture that can
reduce inactivity and allow people to naturally move to the most comfortable
position. Indeed, our bodies work best when we can switch positions whenever joint
pain or muscle fatigue prompts us to.
The health benefits of standing desks are well known, but even beyond health, there
are plenty of other benefits of standing at work instead of sitting. Does stand up
desk improve focus, mood, productivity, or other aspects of work? As a matter of
fact, these are just a few of the benefits of working standing up.
2. Working while standing can improve productivity, focus, concentration, and thinking
in some surprising ways. Researchers like to look at the link between standing desks
and workplace productivity. One study compared employees using stand-capable
desks to employees using seated desks and found that the stand-capable group were
more productive almost immediately. By the end of six months, the standing desk
users were logging 53% more successful calls than the seated group. Working while
standing seems to even make you a better thinker. This may be true due to the
mental association with standing for work vs sitting for rest.
One study used psychological test called a Stroop test, which measures processing
ability, to compare mental processing time of workers who were standing vs sitting.
Study participants who took the test while standing showed a small but meaningful
improvement in processing time.The advantage may boil down to a simple reason –
standing is a little harder to do. Not much, but it requires some physical effort. And
it's slightly more mentally demanding because the brain needs to balance body
weight and control more small muscle contractions. The overall effect is slightly
more cognitive stress, which has been shown to improve cognitive performance.
The same effects on focus and concentration are seen for studying or drawing, or
other types of work. Artists, designers, architects, and students have long used
corner standing desk, sometimes perching on drafting stools and employing tilted
tabletops. In part, that's because standing facilitates collaboration over a design or
presentation of a drawing. A sit/stand desk perfectly enables shifts between
different types of work that are possible to do while either sitting or standing.
3. Often when engaged in a project, creatives may work for hours on end. A
height-adjustable workstation allows for easy adjustments to stay comfortable while
working. This in turn helps maintain the flow state that keeps the momentum
going.To improve mental focus, even famed film editor Walter Murch advocates for
using a standing desk while editing a film. According to Murch, “Editing film is like a
combination of being a short-order cook, a brain surgeon, and an orchestra
conductor. Each of those three people stands to do what they do.”
Does l shaped standing desk increase mental focus or productivity? When standing
at work, people tend to spend less time on unproductive and time-wasting activities
like social media. The result is an overall productivity boost for the entire day. In fact,
a widely known study of call center workers found that their productivity increased
45% when they stood during calls. Improved comfort and the ability to
accommodate natural positions can help improve focus and productivity.
If you're interested in increasing your daily productivity with very little effort, it
makes sense to try a height-adjustable desk. Be sure to find a sit-stand desk that
adjusts quickly and smoothly along with your body's natural movement to minimize
distractions. Are there other health benefits to using a standing desk or a standing
4. desk with drawers? Many people report greater comfort, enhanced mood, and
general improvements in wellbeing as benefits of sit-stand desks. When we consider
how our bodies evolved from hunter/gatherer cultures, standing desk health
benefits make even more sense. If you're interested in the benefits of standing
versus sitting at work, find a height-adjustable desk that allows both. You'll find
something to love. And the improvements in your physical, mental, and metabolic
health may surprise you.
More and more people are aware of the benefits of standing at work, so standing
desk with keyboard tray has become one of the top workplace perks that employers
provide. In fact, the latest SHRM (Society of Human Resource Management) benefits
survey shows that 60% of employers offer standing desks. So there's a good chance
that your workplace may already have a policy in place for standing desks. And if
they don't, you can still gather your thoughts about the benefits of working standing
up and some tips about how to request a standing desk. Then ask. With luck, you'll
be choosing your standing desk model before you know it, and your employer will be
thrilled that you're looking at ways to increase your productivity.