Health Benefits of Standing Up—3 Things You Didn’t Know

How Do Standing Desks Help Your Health?

A growing number of studies have established a strong link between prolonged sitting and serious health conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, systemic pain, and even premature death.  

Fortunately, some companies have started offering standing desk as part of their employee’s wellness programs to offset the dangers of prolonged sitting. 

Below we reveal  3 things you probably didn’t know about the health benefits of standing desks:

Standing Desk Health Benefits: Increased Productivity

While several studies have tried to quantify the effects on productivity when workers use standing desks, one study stood out.  Researchers at Texas A&M University’s Health Science Center School of Public Health has suggested that employees using standing desks were more productive than their colleagues in standard seated desks over a six-month period.

The study, which involved 167 employees in a Texan call center, measured productivity based on their successful calls—i.e., phone calls in which the clients were given new goals and were scheduled for a follow-up call.

The study has shown that standing desks users had 53 percent more successful calls than their colleagues using standard workstations.

The increased productivity, according to researchers, could be attributed to less pain, lower stress levels, improved focus, better mood, and increased energy levels.

Employers are not the only ones who recognize the countless health benefits of standing desks; some educational institutes are also moving away from the traditional seating arrangement.

Educational institutions which have adopted the concept of standing desks have reported improved performance, mood, and focus among their students.  For this reason some kindergarten schools have even implemented this new setup.

Standing Desk Health Benefits: Improved Health

About two-thirds of US adults are considered obese, a looming health problem linked to a sedentary lifestyle. To minimize such risk, researchers and doctors advocate the health benefits of standing at work.  (Standing burns about 50 more calories an hour than sitting.)

Aside from a lower risk of obesity, a growing number of empirical studies have suggested that the health benefits of standing desks also include lower risk of cancer (breast and colon cancer are strongly linked to sedentary lifestyle) and lower back pain relief, improved posture, and a longer life.

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Standing Desk Benefits: Lower Cost

Studies have suggested that one effective way to manage cost is to urge employees to stick to a healthier lifestyle. In fact, a survey released by Fidelity and the National Business Group of Health has shown that US companies spent an average of $693 per worker on wellness programs in 2015, up from $430 in 2010.

A growing number of companies include standing desks as part of their employee’s wellness program, while others only provide this “arrangement” when doctors prescribe this to alleviate a worker’s lower back pain, postural problems, and other ill effects of a sedentary lifestyle.

According to a study conducted by researchers at Stanford University, employees who used standing desks were 78 percent more likely to report a pain-free day compared to their colleagues who used regular workstations.

And with healthier employees you can expect more benefits such as a lower turnover rate, reduced absenteeism, and even higher efficiency.