At any given point, nearly 31 million Americans are suffering from mild to chronic back pain. Whether it’s from poor posture, the wrong mattress, or from sports injuries, there are many things that can contribute to this issue. One of the benefits of a standing desk setup at work is that you can avoid one of the most common factors of back pain: sitting for 40 hours a week.
If you want to know more of the reasons for choosing a standing desk, check out these 5 benefits.
1. Less Risk Of Weight Gain
Everyone wants to stay in good shape and one of the best ways to be sure that burn the calories you take in is to be active. Sitting down means you’re inactive and that means you won’t be burning off the calories you consume through foods and beverages. While exercise is the most surefire way to get rid of excess weight, any kind of activity, even standing still or pacing will help you to burn calories.
Standing on your feet can burn calories just by holding up the weight of your body. If you don’t have time to exercise during your workday, standing can burn the caloric equivalent of 4 cups of coffee with cream.
Every week you’ll be burning around 800 calories just from choosing to stand at your desk. Since working at a desk is strongly correlated with obesity, diabetes, and general poor health, it could be the best decision you make this year.
2. You Can Lower Your Blood Sugar
Spikes in your blood sugar can affect your ability to think and to process information in addition to physiological effects. When people have a high risk of diabetes, they need to keep blood sugar down after they have a meal.
Even alternating between sitting and standing every hour or half hour can change the amount that your blood sugar will spike. If your doctor has warned about a risk of diabetes, this could be your first step to better health.
When you stand at your desk, you’ll find that you’re more apt to engage in other physical activity. While you may have just shoved yourself along in your rolling chair to speak to someone, you’ll instead walk over to their desk. Those small changes will quickly snowball into larger changes that could bring much better health.
You’ll notice a new spring in your step and your doctor will praise your decision.
3. Decrease Back Pain
The majority of Americans will experience back pain at some point in their life, much of it experienced by desk workers. People who sit in a chair all day might slouch, lean back, or sit too high on even the most well-designed lumbar-supporting chair. Unless you train yourself, you can make even the most well-designed chair contribute to back pain.
People who are already experiencing back pain should consider a standing desk converter to start with. People who are afraid of developing back issues should take the issue seriously.
Back pain can start from anywhere on the body, so be sure that if you’re choosing a standing desk option that you wear comfortable shoes. If you’re on concrete floors or thin carpet, you may not get the support that your frame needs.
Back pain, foot pain, neck, and shoulder pain can all come from a similar place. Eliminate your potential for dealing with chronic pain, sleep issues, or headaches by taking care of your back. Chronic pain could lead to a need for medication or even surgery that could be avoided by a good standing desk setup.
4. Improve your Energy
One of the most difficult things to keep up in an office environment is morale and a positive mood. It only takes one person who is having a bad day to bring down all the energy. Providing an environment for everyone to feel good and high-energy comes down to how people feel while they’re working.
If everyone is sitting at their desks, stressed out, with high blood sugar and low energy, they’re sure to be short with one another. Since most office miscommunication comes from tone of voice, you can improve everyone’s mood and their interactions with standing desks.
A more positive work environment is better for everyone’s mental health. High energy work environments where everyone is healthy can be contagious. If most people are in a good mood, it’s hard for one person to feel comfortable bringing it all down.
Lowering stress and fatigue is one of the best benefits of a standing workspace setup.
5. See Improved Productivity
Some people raise concerns about the ability to type while at a standing desk set up. They might think this will harm overall productivity. Thankfully most standing desk setups allow your keyboard to be placed at a comfortable height for working.
Most people report that they have no trouble typing or no lowered rate in their words per minute while typing at a standing desk. With most setups, you get to set your standing desk converter to a comfortable and standard position.
Desks aren’t made differently for people who are 5 feet tall or 7 feet tall. A standing desk converter can adjust to your height and be more comfortable for your body type.
Because you’ll be on your feet, you’ll find that you’re more energetic and upbeat. This provides great potential to be productive.
The Benefits of A Standing Desk Are Endless
There’s no end to the number of benefits of a standing desk. You’ll find that it completely changes your mood and your approach to your work. With a more positive outlook, you can be a better contributor to your work environment.
If you’re looking for more ways to improve your mood at work, check out our guide to must-have headphones to give you a better soundtrack to your workday.
