It’s widely known that sitting for extended periods of time can be harmful for your health, especially if those long timeframes are a daily (or almost daily) occurrence. If you have a job or a hobby which requires you to work at a desk, and because of that you spend many hours at a time sitting, then you may be interested in something rather new to the market: a sit-stand desk.
Just to give you an idea of how big a difference a sit-stand desk can make to your health, let’s take a look at 5 ways standing at your desk can help make you healthier.
1. It can lower your heart disease risk.
Standing instead of sitting for hours at a time can reduce your likelihood of developing heart disease. It has been medically proven that sitting for extended periods of time can have adverse effects on the heart. Today, with new studies using updated equipment — such as the sit-stand desk — findings are confirming that standing is, indeed, healthier for the heart than sitting for extended periods is.
2. It prevents back pain caused by sitting for long periods of time.
Back pain may be one of the biggest complaints from people who spend a lot of time sitting. As a matter of fact, sitting for extended periods can result in true back injuries including disc problems, muscle strain, and backaches of both the upper and lower back. Standing not only reduces back pain, but allows more freedom of motion so you can stretch and move around, which will help relieve back pain and strain. Standing, rather than sitting for hours at a time, will benefit you also by allowing you to step in place, which will keep your back from being stressed.
3. It can help you lose weight.
Weight gain is one of the most common complaints from people who have to sit for long timeframes. Sitting reduces the amount of calories you burn, while standing increases the amount of calories burned. Therefore, weight loss is greater for people who stand than it is for people who sit. Even if you only stand for half of your work day while alternating with sitting, you will end up burning more calories and losing weight more easily.
4. It helps keep your blood sugar levels balanced.
Blood sugar levels may be lower if you make a point to stand at your desk. Again, alternating between standing and sitting can prevent your blood sugar from spiking, according to recent studies. Another study has shown that sitting after meals can be harmful, because when you are sedentary, your blood sugar goes up faster — especially after eating. Standing will help keep it more even and allow your body to process it in a healthier way.
5. It can improve your mental health.
Standing can help with your mental health. Depression is a thief — it steals your joy, interferes with your ability to think clearly, and eventually can end up wrecking havoc on more areas of life than you can count. Sitting, not moving, and being sedentary and inactive will add to mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. When you get moving, even simply standing in place and being able to move a little more than sitting would allow, you release endorphins which will help combat depression, anxiety, and other mental health problems. These “feel-good hormones” are allowed to play a greater role in your life, giving you a healthier attitude and keeping your mind clear to think and concentrate properly. Moods will improve, mood swings will become less common, and spirits will rise as you rise with your new sit-stand desk.
When it comes right down to it, standing is much healthier than sitting. Now that there is this new desk available, even people who have desk jobs can reap the benefits of being on their feet more. Joining the ranks of the health conscious is only a step, or a stand, away.
Choosing the sit-stand desk may reduce your chances of developing heart disease, becoming diabetic, and suffering from mental fog and depression. Not only that, it will introduce you to a lifestyle which helps you burn more calories and lose or maintain a healthy weight. Standing is the new thing, and it may end up being the best thing you ever introduced in your own work life. No more “sit down job,” instead it will be a “standing for health job.”
