Vitals: Office workers who spent an hour or so a day at stand-up workstations felt more energized, productive and even happier, researchers reported on Thursday. And if they keep it up, they may help reduce the damage done by sitting at a desk all day.
Study after study has shown that sitting all day long is bad for you. People risk developing lower back problems, kidney disease, heart disease and other ills – even if they exercise outside of work.
6 comments:
I HATE SITTING DOWN. This is the absolute number one reason why I could never have an office job. In theatre, particularly the field I want to go into, there certainly is SOME sitting, but not a ton. Ideally, I wouldn't be sitting down for more than three hours a day at any future job. Even sitting through a 3 hour class here starts to drive me crazy. And when the day is done, I am always so ready to stand up. When I'm sitting, I feel lazy. I could be doing very productive work and still feel this way. There is something about having to move around and travel and touch things to make them happen that is far more inspiring than clicking a mouse button. I recognize that not everyone feels this way, but for me sitting down is really depressing.
I have never thought about how much time a day I spend sitting. Reading this article, it has started me thinking, and I have realized that I don't spend as much time sitting as one would think. While I do have to sit for almost 4 hours straight during rehearsal, I spend most of the rest of my day standing or walking. I get tired of sitting in the office, so I walk around the second floor. I purposely walk to the water fountain that is farther away, I park far from the door in the garage so I can walk more. I find myself standing in the hallway or in someone else's office while chatting or having a meeting. Sitting for long periods of time can become very uncomfortable on my lower back, and shifting positions often and standing and moving help a lot.
Another consideration to this new type of desk is ergonomic injuries. People who change their position often and go from sitting to standing are less likely to have stress injuries, etc. These companies may have struck on a good idea to help keep office workers healthy.
I would love to try this kind of desk. Actually, I get mad every time I have to draft, because the desks in 33 are at the worst height to draft on while standing up. Like the article said, I just feel more energetic and awake when I am doing things while standing up. Obviously, an alternative to this kind of desk is to just take a break every once in a while to stretch and go for a walk. That probably works too.
I've been a huge proponent of adjustable desks ever since I bought my personal drafting table, I find myself standing while working at that desk roughly 60% of the time. Unfortunately, on average I would estimate that I spend 35-50 hrs a week sitting at my desk and computer, a number that has been consistent across my last 2.5 years of work/school, it's just the nature of the beast sometimes. In recent weeks I've begun noticing that I will at times choose to stand during periods of class, due in part to my general comfort and the fact that I'm generally more attentive and alert at this time (a common trend pointed out in the article). In summation, if I had my way I would certainly use one of these desks all the time. I also think that the study makes some interesting points and I'll be interested to see if the topic takes flight more publicly.
These devices are really cool in that you can sit or stand at any time. They are easy to put onto a desk that someone already has. It does not require someone or company to buy new desks for their employees. I would love to see a lot of companies adopt this so that there is less people just by siting at their desks doing the work. I wonder how much money that a company would save by putting these types of device into effect. The company would surly save on worker comp events. I know that it would be expensive to set up but I am sure that it would be cost effective.
It's interesting that this is such a big deal that an entire new product was created to deal with it. I really find that I pay a lot more attention and can be more alert in class if I am standing, even when I'm tired. Standing gets your circulation going and your body into an active position. I am a bit skeptical about the results of the "study," as it is nearly impossible to get objective results when every member of the study knew they were going to experience a new workstation. Of course they thought they were "more comfortable," "more productive," "healthier," etc. I don't disagree with the results but I also believe the are a little weighted towards the positive.
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