As we become technology-dependent, our lifestyle becomes more sedentary, putting us at various health risks. Sitting cozily on your desk for long hours in the same spot is not as beneficial as standing up from time to time.
Since our body is designed to move, how beneficial is it for us to perform tasks while standing? How long should you stand while working? Is standing up for a long time healthy? Here’s what you need to know and when you should ditch your cozy chair.
How Is Healthy Standing Up While Working?
According to studies, sitting for a long time can cause significant health risks. These include heart illnesses, risk of developing diabetes, and even death. Aside from substantial health issues, it is linked to gaining weight, fat-belly build-up, and obesity.
The majority of office goers’ main issue is that they sit almost all day. This affects the quality of your life and limits activities, which leads to several developing problems. Standing desks have been around the corner, but people have only embraced them recently.
There are tons of benefits you may want to reconsider while standing up while working and standing up. At the same time, working has a significant impact on your body and overall well-being, especially using the right equipment. You can check Best and Highly Rated For Sit Stand Desks In Australia to make it conveniently easy for you to change your posture while performing tasks effectively.
The standing desk features easy adjustability to help you move, stand, or sit whenever needed. Most of these desks come with a swiveling chair, which allows you to carry it out while you are standing.
According to studies, standing while working helps burn more calories than sitting cozily. However, benefits vary with the person’s overall health condition.
Benefits Of Using A Standing Desk While Working
Whether you are planning to get yourself a standing desk or a change in your daily routine, here’s what to expect when you decide to invest in standing desks:
- Reduces the risk of obesity and weight gain.
Living a sedentary lifestyle puts you at significant risk of obesity or weight gain. This is due to the limited mobility while comfortably sitting on your office or home desks. Gaining weight is caused by consuming more calories vs. what you are burning.
Compared to sitting, when you stand while working, it enables your body to burn extra 170 calories daily. This is highly beneficial for people who believe they put on some weight on their current job due to a sedentary routine.
- It can lower the levels of your blood sugar or risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
After eating, your body expects a surge of blood sugar and if you have higher levels of sugar intakes gives you a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes. An increase in blood sugar level is a significant sign of poor overall health and well-being.
Recent studies show that people who stand up for about 185 minutes after eating have 43% reduced blood sugar levels than people who immediately sit after a lunch break—alternatively, 30 minutes time interval to sit and stand decreases blood sugar count.
- It helps reduce lower back pain.
Adults experience lower back pain over their timeline and the most typical complaint about office-goers that sits all day. People who experience lower back pain have reduced discomfort when they practice standing up or using the standing desk while working.
- Reduces the risk of heart diseases
Standing while working reduces the development of cardiovascular illnesses compared to people who live an inactive lifestyle. This issue was suggested in 1953. To this date, the findings are still accurate, and passive people will likely develop heart diseases compared to people who live actively.
- It helps improve energy levels and mood.
Standing while working helps improve your mood and increases your energy level, which prevents anxiety and depression. Officer goers feel healthier, energized, more productive, and less stressed compared to sitting all day.
- Standing up can improve your life expectancy.
Aside from various illnesses, if you are inactive, your life expectancy decreases too. That means if you reduce sitting and start standing or moving around will reduce early death and allow you to live longer.
- It boosts productivity
It requires you to get used to the habit of standing up and moving around to be more productive. Standing desks are designed to help employees achieve their full potential and efficiency. With improved mood and energy levels, reducing back, neck, or shoulder pain helps improve one’s mental alertness and thus improves your productivity.
Once your body is in it’s perfect shape and health, you’re expected to function better, allowing you to finish tasks assigned faster and more precisely.
How Long Should You Stand While Working?
Aside from the benefits mentioned above, you also improve your balance and posture when you get used to standing up while working. This helps you strengthen your foot muscles, core muscles, ankle, and legs.
Standing up while working enables you to be more aware of your posture and helps you tone up your body. Having good posture helps improve your metabolism too. However, standing up while working varies with the person’s overall health.
If it’s a challenge for you to stand up for a longer time while working, try to establish a habit and start with 15 minutes of standing each hour. Then gradually increase it to 30 minutes each hour to get optimum health benefits.
Conclusion.
The bottom line is that you must avoid living an inactive lifestyle to ensure better health and well-being. This simple lifestyle change can be a challenge, but with dedication, you will immensely see the benefits.
[Photo credit: Christina Morillo from Pexels]
