The Standing Desk: Why Is It Changing Our Office Design And Space Planning?

So what are the benefits of a standing desk?

Did you know that the benefits of standing more at work include:

• Lowers the risk of weight gain. Let’s get the health jargon out of the way; weight gain happens because we take in more calories than we burn. This is why it’s always important to include exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle; cutting down on the amount of food you eat alone won’t lose you weight, you actually need calories to provide you with energy, so vastly cutting down on them in counterintuitive.
  
  With the office being the place where the vast majority of employees spend their weeks in, it’s important to think about the impact that it may have on their health. Standing means that you’re being more active; you’ll be using your body more to stand upright. As such, it’s likely that standing for long periods during the day (as well as being able to move around more freely) will help to burn more calories, lowering the risk of weight gain.

• May lower blood sugar levels. Restrictive movement in the office, has been linked to high blood sugar levels; the more they increase after meals, the more harmful it is to your health. A 2014 study looked at this with five offices worker standing for 180 minutes after their lunch. It was noted that their blood sugar spike was reduced by 43%, compared to the other five who were sitting for the same amount of time. Interestingly, the study says that both of these groups undertook the same amount of steps, indicating that the spike was as a result of standing, rather than sitting or any additional cardiovascular activity.
  
  A further study, also in 2014, involved 23 office workers who alternated between sitting and standing every half-an-hour throughout their workday. The findings indicated that their blood sugar levels were reduced by at least 11% on average. The message we can take away from this is that it would probably be more beneficial for us to remain active after meal times; excessive sitting time has also been linked to a greater risk of contracting type 2 diabetes.

• May lower the risk of heart disease. The notion of ‘sitting less will lower the risk of heart disease’ is nothing new, in fact it was first mentioned as far back as the 1950’s, when a study revealed that conductors on London buses were less likely to have heart attacks than their driver colleagues. Exercise giving the heart the room to perform as it should. Something to think about when considering your office design and space planning?

• Gains a better posture and reduces back pain. Standing more will give you an opportunity to correct your posture and relieve back pain too. Whilst there are some fantastic modern office chairs out there that are designed to support the back, they still put the body in a restrictive position. Standing up for longer periods will provide the space for you to correct your posture and to take pressure off the back, resulting in less pain.