Between driving, working, and relaxing, you spend hours every day in a seated position. Over time, this leads to health conditions and can affect your productivity. Here are three of the biggest reasons you should try standing up at work.
Standing at Work is Better for Your Physical Health
Sitting in a chair for hours on end can often lead to poor posture of the neck and shoulders. Your back begins to slump forward, straining the muscles and causing weakness. You start experiencing muscle and joint pain in the trapezius, neck, and low back. Hips become weak, knee pain and sciatica develop, and feet become flatter. The discs between your lumbar vertebrae can start to bulge or herniate and lead to biomechanical instability.
As humans, our bodies are evolutionarily not supposed to sit for long periods. When you stand up to work, your back is under two times less pressure than when you sit at your desk. By redistributing the workload onto other muscles, you can help relieve any pain.
Standing also leads to less risk of suffering from sedentarism-related diseases such as heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, and hypertension.
Standing at Work Keeps You Fit
Besides increasing physical activity, standing requires you to activate large muscle groups. Although standing doesn’t replace exercise, it burns extra calories. By working on your feet, you can burn 200 more calories a day – or the same amount you would on an exercise bike for 30 minutes.
Standing keeps us more mentally fit, too. While standing, we produce more testosterone and less cortisol, stimulating mental and emotional activity. You’re less stressed, depressed, and tired and have better overall well-being.
Standing at Work Makes You More Productive
Standing for work helps increase blood circulation, stimulating both body and mind. In this study on call center workers with stand-capable desks, employees with the option to stand were 45 percent more productive than employees who sat.
With the energy boost created by standing, your senses are heightened, and you become more aware of your surroundings. Productivity levels increase, and you’re more creative with your work.
Standing causes an improvement in attention-related processes in the pre-frontal cortex of your brain, leading to higher levels of focus. You have greater engagement in your work and can complete complex tasks correctly. You start finding work more enjoyable, too.
The Bottom Line
Standing desks are becoming increasingly popular due to their positive impact on our physical and mental health.
To see the benefits of standing, try to stand for 30 minutes at a time, several times daily. When you get tired of standing, sit for a while to recover your legs. As you feel more comfortable, lengthen the time you stand. Wear comfortable flat shoes and use a cushioned mat for additional support.
Contact us for a free consultation to learn more about maintaining a healthy lifestyle or recovering from an injury.
