We all spend a lot of time sitting still: at the workplace in the office, in front of the TV or PC at home, and so on. It’s widely known that a sedentary lifestyle isn’t healthy, but until recently there was nothing we could do about it, as many jobs just can’t be performed without a working desk. However, there is now a compromise between usefulness and healthiness. We introduce to you a standing desk.
What Is A Standing Desk
Basically, it’s a work desk that is designed to be used while standing rather than sitting. With how popular standing desks have become, you’ve most likely already seen one at some office or even used one yourself. And there are good reasons for this popularity, as standing during your work time improves your health in a multitude of ways.
Sit-Stand Desks
Besides standing desks, there are also so-called sit-stand desks, which are even better as they can be changed from “standing mode” to “sitting mode”. If you’re not ready to stand for the entire working day, but want to enjoy the health benefits of using a standing desk, this is an option for you.
Sit-stand desks are possible because of table lifts, their most important component. Those allow you to change the height of your working desk, fix it at an exact level or even turn the desk around.
Why Would You Use It
Working at a standing desk improves your physical and even mental health in many surprising ways. Here is the list of some of the most notable benefits:
The Body
Everybody and they dog know that if you spend all your time sitting still it will affect your health. However, in the modern world, many professions are closely associated with PC or paperwork. Those jobs simply can’t be performed in any other way than by spending time at the desk. The average American spends 13 hours per day sitting, which negatively impacts metabolism and can lead to obesity.
On the other hand, standing (or shifting between sitting and standing) during a working day is by itself a rewarding exercise. In fact, when you’re standing, your body burns calories just because of the pose. Just a few calories, but if we take a look at the total after a year of using a standing desk it will be equal to running a dozen marathons. Pretty impressive, considering you do no exercise at all.
The Mind
A sedentary lifestyle can harm our brains as well as our muscles. Recent studies have proven that sitting too much can cause damage to the parts of the brain responsible for the memory. Our brain is a complicated mechanism that hasn’t been fully studied yet, so we can’t really say that this theory is 100% true. However, it will definitely be wise to avoid long periods of sitting still.
The Mood
It’s scientifically proven that our lifestyle affects not just our body, but our mental health as well. Those who spend most of their working day standing often enjoy higher energy level along with a happier and more productive mood. Sit-stand desks are even better in this case, as the ability to shifts between positions can positively affect your state of mind, turning your working routine into a much more enjoyable experience.
Conclusion
The benefits of standing during your work time may seem minor at first. However, when you take into account how much time per week, month or year you spend at your workplace, you realize that the impact on your health is actually huge. Over time any effect tends to accumulate, and this applies to both positive and negative ones. Just by changing your workplace a little today you can avoid obesity, improve your mood and even increase your lifespan in the future.
If you want to build your sit-stand desk right now, a multitude of progressive table lifts for your home or office can be found on our website.