If you lead a sedentary lifestyle, you may find yourself sitting for long periods of time. Before working at a sitting desk, I knew sitting was bad, but I had never bothered to do anything about it. I would find myself sitting for 1-3 hours at a time. With a busy schedule and working long hours, you can end up sitting for long periods of time during the day.
Sedentary disorder is a term used by health professionals to describe many problems caused by sitting all day. Now that I have the ability to sit and stand during my work day, I have noticed many health benefits. After doing my research, I created a list of health benefits you can expect when using a standing desk, so you can prevent sedentary syndrome.
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1. Reduce Health Risks
Prolonged sitting has been linked to many health risks such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and in some cases, cancer. With a standing desk, you are able to add standing moments to your work day. Getting up, even just for a short walk, can help lower blood sugar and cholesterol which lowers the risk of heart disease.
Staying active and increasing your movement and exercise are the best ways to fight diabetes. Inactivity, like sitting, slows your metabolism which can increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. According to the American Diabetes Association, when you divide your sitting for long periods of time by standing and walking, it significantly reduces postprandial glucose, insulin, and NEFA in women with diabetes.
Some cancers, especially breast cancer and prostate cancer, are influenced by physical inactivity. People who live for long periods of time, even if they exercise regularly, are at a higher risk of these types of cancer.
2. Reduce Back and Neck Pain
If you’re someone who sits all day, I’m sure you’ve experienced some form of back and/or neck pain. Sitting all day can cause a lot of stress on your spine and may even lead to disc damage. If you stare at the monitor for a long time, you start to show bad posture by bending our back. If your monitor is not in the correct ergonomic position, causing you to tilt your head down, you may experience neck strain.
Chronic Disease Prevention’s Take-a-Stand Project studied a group of people who tried to sit, stand, or walk for one week, two weeks, and four weeks. Over time, this group reported less low back pain and shoulder tension, improved posture, and increased mood and overall well-being. If you are looking to reduce neck or back pain, a standing desk may be the perfect solution.
3. Increases Energy and Improves Mood
When you stand, your brain becomes more active which can increase your energy. Standing helps your blood flow more easily which sends more oxygen to your muscles. If you sit for a long time, you tend to feel tired. Standing is a great way to improve your mood and energy, which can help prevent fatigue. With all this increased energy, you are able to stay focused on tasks and be more productive.
4. Increase Activity
This is kind of a no-brainer: Standing is better for you than sitting all day. Although standing is technically ineffective, standing gives you the ability to move more while working. While you are standing at your desk, you are able to have more arm and leg movement. Many people with standing desks use things like standing mats, balance boards, treadmills, or even exercise bikes. Even though standing is better for you than sitting, you want to make sure you have active movement while standing to reap the added health benefits. With this increased activity, standing desk users are likely to burn more calories standing than sitting during the day.
5. It May Extend Your Life
Research shows that reducing your sedentary time will increase your life expectancy. Sitting for long periods of time can increase the risk of heart disease, cancer and diabetes. By reducing your sitting time, you ultimately reduce your risk of these health problems and increase your health.
Another study by the American Cancer Society states, “Women and men who were more sedentary and less active were 94% and 48%, respectively, more likely to die compared to those who reported being less sedentary and more active.”
6. Ergonomics and Better Posture
Sitting can put a lot of stress on your spine, especially if you don’t practice proper ergonomics. Proper ergonomics work together to reduce lower back pain and neck pain. By choosing a pose, your spine will stretch and become slightly stronger allowing your back to be in a natural “S” shape. The pose will help promote better posture, while giving your spine some relief. That being said, if you are standing at your desk, you need to know how to be ergonomic to reap the benefits of a standing desk. Knowing how to sit and stand properly, at your new standing desk, will be the key to achieving better posture.
7. Better Circulation
Another major health benefit is better circulation because it leads to other health benefits. If you choose to stand at your desk you will have better blood flow compared to sitting. Sitting can reduce your circulation which can lead to many health problems such as swollen ankles, blood clots, peripheral neuropathy, and varicose veins. Standing promotes better circulation in your extremities, so you want to make sure you get up and stretch, stand, and move around throughout the day to keep yourself healthy.
General Thoughts
If you are active in a sedentary lifestyle, posture will be your key to living a healthy life. Standing is a great way to help reduce health risks such as heart disease and diabetes. With proper ergonomics, posture can help improve your posture while reducing neck and back pain. Standing, or any increased movement throughout the day can help promote better circulation and performance. Overall, if you reduce the amount of sitting you do per day, you will see many health benefits and may even extend your life.
Remember, if you have a new standing desk, you have to work slowly until you stop. Try to stand for 10 minutes every 50 minutes of sitting. Set reminders to know when to sit or stand throughout the day to prevent sitting for long periods of time. Work your way up to a 50/50 split of standing and sitting throughout the day. If you want to really improve your health, add some movement and activity to your day. Taking a short break from traveling and increasing your overall activity will be the best way to a new, healthy life.