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.
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.
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 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.