Ever used a standing desk? If you’re not familiar with it, then you should be. A standing desk offers you the perfect workplace to accomplish your job while standing up. Whether it’s typing something online, creating a masterpiece, or doing numbers, you’ll easily do them while standing up with a standing desk. But why exactly should you get one? This info graphic illustrates the various health benefits of using one and the risks to your overall well-being when you’re sitting for long hours. Similarly, here are some explanations as to why these are so.
7 Health Benefits of Using A Standing Desk
Lowers Risk of Weight Gain and Obesity
Most of the time, you don’t get to exercise because you’re working. But with a standing desk, you’re more than able to sneak in a few little work-outs in between tasks or even while you’re working. Think how much easier doing squats or lunges will be when you’re using a standing desk!
Lower Blood Sugar Levels
Since you’re able to work out a few sweats while using a standing desk, you’re also lowering your blood sugar levels, which makes you less vulnerable to contracting health defects such as diabetes, obesity, and heart diseases. Unfortunately, you don’t get to do the same just by sitting around during your work.
Reduce Back Pains
The natural shape of your body is straight and long, like when you’re standing up straight. Despite being a relaxing pastime, sitting can actually encourage pain in certain parts of your body, particularly with your back. In contrast, standing up for long hours can ultimately reduce your back pain and promote more comfort and ease.
Improve Mood and Energy Levels
When you’re simply sitting down, you’re more or less keeping all your emotions bottled up and compact. But when you’re using a standing desk, you’re more aware of your surroundings, more energized, and freer to share whatever it is that you’re feeling to the people around you. Through this, using the office furniture actually improves your mood and gives you more energy.
Boost Productivity
Having more energy boosts your productivity levels tenfold. And when you’re using a standing desk, you’re more likely to gain more energy through small workouts, communication with other people in the office, and physical and mental stimulation. As opposed to just sitting down, which can ultimately make you keep to yourself while you’re working on your tasks.
Lengthens Your Lifespan
In essence, using standing desk makes you a lot healthier than simply sitting during work. You’re less at risk to various health problems, you get to work-out in the middle of your workday, and you have more opportunity to socialize with your colleagues at work. All this leads to a longer lifespan to help you enjoy and live life to the fullest.
10 Health Risks of Sitting for Long Hours
Weight Gain
When you’re staying stationary for a long period of time, all the weight that you’ve gained will stay in your body. Since you’re barely moving, you’re not burning enough calories to shed off the extra pounds and avoid obesity. This is one of the most dangerous effects of simply sitting around during your work.
Poor Blood Circulation
The sitting position, despite your body getting used to it, is not your natural state. When you’re sitting for long hours, you’re actually making it more difficult for blood to circulate to various parts of your body. It’s tantamount to blocking the flow when your body is of certain angles when you’re sitting down.
Heart Disease
The two health risks first mentioned can lead to this big one: contracting heart disease. Getting a stroke or a heart attack is made all the more possible if you’re just sitting for long hours during the day. Since your body isn’t shedding off some extra pounds and your blood circulation is poor, you have bigger chances of getting heart disease.
Weakened Muscles
Less exercise means weaker muscles. With a standing desk, you’re more able to sneak in a few work-out at work, but if you’re just sitting around, your body isn’t getting healthier nor stronger. All the bad stuff that you’ve eaten will take over your systems and your muscles will become weaker and weaker as you avoid standing or moving throughout the day.
Diabetes
Since you’re not able to shed off a few extra pounds by just sitting around, you’re also not burning the bad fat while keeping the good fat. Your body, in this situation, is just full of fat, and an extravagant amount of such can lead to diabetes. Although this sickness is mostly due to a bad diet, not having enough exercise can also result to contracting this diseases.
Posture Problems
If you’re just sitting down, your buck hunched down, your stomach is out, and your shoulders are down, you’re not promoting proper posture. And when you’re required to stand up straight, you’re less likely to hold it comfortably than those who are used to standing up for a long period of time.
Chronic Body Pain
Apart form massages, stretching can lead all those body pains away in a snap. If your back hurting, twist it a bit. Got a cramp? Stretch it out as you gently massage the body part. All these are much easier to do while standing up. But when you’re just sitting down, you’re more or less going to experience the same problems over and over again.
Brain Damage
Physical stimulation actually affects your brain. It keeps it active and fresh as you move about in your work area or other parts of your office. But if you’re staying completely still for a long period of time, especially if you’re just in front of a computer screen, your brain can substantially be damaged in the process.
Anxiety and Depression
Keeping to yourself is easier when you’re sitting on your desk. But what’s also easier because of this is getting more anxious and depressed about life. At least with a standing desk, you’re more able to socialize with other people, see the small wonders of the world, and just feel happier and more relaxed.
Cancer
All these health risks and more anc lead to Cancer. And when you’re ot even living a healthy lifestyle outside of work, it’ll be more difficult to fight this dangerous and life-threatening disease with therapy. This is an important note to remember the next time you’re going for another job!
Don’t dismiss using a standing desk so easily. You never know how it can positively impact your life at work. Try it for yourself and reap its various health benefits!
