Are Standing Desks Worth Trying?

Working at the desk for long periods causes a variety of health problems, including back and neck pain, obesity, diabetes, and even cancer. According to the book Eat Move Sleep, sitting more than six hours a day increases the risk of early death dramatically, also doing exercise can’t help. While, as reported by a survey [1], most people in America spend 13 hours a day on average sitting and an average of 8 hours a day sleeping, which is apparent sedentary behavior. Given this situation, it is no better if we can have the chance to stand for about 15 minutes per hour to reduce the negative effect caused by prolonged sitting. And an ergonomic height-adjustable standing desk can solve the problem and gets you with health benefits.

It helps move more often by using an adjustable sit-stand desk, which has positive effects on reducing the risk of obesity. According to the research [2] from James Levine, an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic, the key to reducing the risk of obesity is consistent, moderate levels of movement throughout the day. Additionally, the benefits of standing also involve reducing the chance of type 2 diabetes, cutting down the risk of cancer, lowering blood sugar, and reducing the risk of Cardiovascular Disease. These are all the benefits that a standing desk can provide. Apart from these physical health benefits, breaking the system of prolonged sitting also can improve mental health and greater life experience.

It is essential to find out the proper height of your standing desk so that to maintain the best posture. To figure out, we need to note a few of the following tips.

Firstly, stand up straight and keep your shoulders slightly back. Then position your elbows at a 90-degree angle from the floor, and measure the distance from the floor to your elbow, which is the proper height of the standing desk set. After determining the height, place your keyboard and mouse to be able to touch gently. Besides, adjust your monitors to ensure at eye level and about an arm away. 

How long should I stand at my desk?

Yes, standing helps a lot, but if we spend too much time on, it turns out to be hurtful. According to the study, prolonged standing may cause discomfort across all the body, especially in the lower back and lower limbs. And researchers have figured out how much time should we sit and stand when we at work. They suggested that we should stand, move, and take breaks for at least two out of eight hours at work, and then gradually add to half of the eight-hour workday. [3] So the point is to be active, that shifting from sitting, standing, and moving. 

About the standing desks, there are many options in the market. We can choose according to our specific demands. For example, if you want to find the best solution, you can select the full height adjustable standing desk, which can be easily and quickly change the height of the desk, and you don’t need to move any of your gears like keyboard, monitor, books, etc. And if you want to keep the current desk and are on a budget, the adjustable sit-stand desktop converter is an appropriate solution. It can be set directly on the existing desktop and provides ergonomic benefits. Apart from the two mentioned above, we can also choose fixed-height standing desks, monitor risers, and DIY by adding some books under the monitor to raise the height.

Once you decide to purchase a standing desk, consider adding some essential accessories to your workspace to improve your productivity and ergonomics highly.

First of all, the hard surface your stand may fatigue your feet, so consider to add an anti-fatigue standing mat to help release the uncomfortable feeling. Besides, you can add a monitor mount or laptop riser to your standing desk, so that you can adjust or tilt your monitor to reach your various needs. Additionally, a durable and comfortable office chair is indispensable to your ergonomic workstation, which provides ample lumbar support for you.

Where to find the standing desks supplier?

LUMI – a professional Chinese supplier and manufacturer of ergonomic office and home solution, provides products like adjustable standing desks, sit-stand desktop converters, monitor arms, and other ergo accessories like footrest, standing mat, etc. If you have any questions about our products and serves, please feel free to contact us, we’ll be glad to hear from you.

[1] https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-survey-to-sit-or-stand-almost-70-of-full-time-american-workers-hate-sitting-but-they-do-it-all-day-every-day-215804771.html

[2] https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/five-health-benefits-standing-desks-180950259/

[3] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/06/02/medical-researchers-have-figured-out-how-much-time-is-okay-to-spend-sitting-each-day/?utm_term=.1fceb473d37e