Is A Standing Desk Better For Your Health?


Office workers will spend on average, six and a half hours a day sitting at their computer, not to mention all those home office workers. They will spend around 1,700 hours a year in front of a computer screen, which can contribute to a number of health issues.

“People who spend long periods of time sitting have been found to have higher rates of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and death from all causes. This was originally thought to be because those people were more likely to be obese. But there is now evidence that even if you’re not overweight, sedentary behaviour (see definition, below) can still put you at greater risk.”

-British Heart Foundation

Sedentary behaviour – The term refers to a group of behaviours that occur when sitting or lying down while awake and that typically require low energy expenditure. Examples include sitting while at work, home or school; watching television; using a computer or playing video games (unless it is ‘active’ gaming, such as Wii Fit); reading; sitting while socialising with friends or family, and sitting in a car or bus. Sleeping, pushing yourself in a wheelchair and doing chair-based exercises are not classed as sedentary.

Over the past few years, standing desks have become very popular in the modern workplace and studies have suggested that standing during screen time can offer the following benefits:

– Reduce back pain
– Lower risk of heart disease
– Lower risk of weight gain
– Lower blood sugar levels
– Improve mood
– Increased energy

We tested the Varidesk Variform ProPlus™ 36 Standing Desk and found that after just a few days, the body adjusted to working whilst standing and we were able to work on developing a more suitable posture. You can use the desk in either the seated position or standing, and with 11 height settings that take just a few seconds to adjust, it does not disrupt your workflow. The desk arrives fully assembled, you simply place it on top of your current desk and adjust to suit.

The 2-tier design allows for a dual monitor set-up with keyboard and trackpad/mouse on the lower tier. We found working whilst standing was less lethargic than sitting and definitely more productive. You feel more encouraged to focus on tasks and ‘ready’ to move about the office more. Sitting will not burn calories!

Office workers can be sedentary for up to 19.5 hours per day:

– 1.5 Hours Sat commuting via Car, Train or Bus
– 8 Hours Sat in the office chair
– 2 Hours Sat eating dinner and watching TV after work
– 8 hours Laying Down Sleeping

By standing, you are increasing blood flow and the boosted circulation to your brain will heighten the senses. Apart from the obvious benefits of working whilst standing, the ability to reposition it back to desk height, almost instantly is a huge bonus, for those who do not want to stand the whole time. By balancing out your time between sitting and standing, spending 4 hours in the workday at a standing desk, you could burn off an additional 50 calories per hour, that’s 200 per day or 1,000 per week, which is a huge 48,000 calories per year. (Based on a 48-week working year). That is equal to running 18.71 marathons!!

Desk photography (except lifestyle shot) by Helen Audley for Beauty Rebel

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