Designed for an active lifestyle, standing desks are growing in popularity each day. This does not surprise one bit when you consider the increasing number of health-conscious people in the U.S today. Why do you think all these fitness trends like Zumba, cold yoga, etc. have popped up in the past few years? Because there has been a demand for them.
Are Standing Desks Worth the Hype?
The demand for new fitness trends has come from health-conscious people. These are the same people who want seating that ensures both their physical and mental well-being. Standing desks fit the bill perfectly. This is not an empty claim. Instead, it is backed by a study published in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health.
According to the research, the use of a standing desk can help you to burn more calories than the calories you burn while sitting. Compared to the 80 calories they burned in an hour of sitting, study subjects lost 88 calories on a standing desk in the same duration.
While a difference of 8 calories may not seem a lot over a week or two, it can be the difference between a quality life and life plagued with health issues over the long-term. Not only do standing desks ensure a leaner and fitter body, but they also help you to fight-off several health concerns including:
- Obesity
- Cardiovascular disease
- Diabetes
- Cancer
- Premature death
In the U.S, inappropriate seating and furniture is one of the major reasons for workplace injuries. It is seen that many people injure themselves while reaching out for something while sitting on an unstable chair. The good news is that the risk of back and neck injury or other musculoskeletal disorders can be reduced by investing in ergonomic furniture. The perfect example of this is a wobble stool which makes it easy to move around while sitting.
Why Investing in Ergonomic Furniture is a Good Idea
Employers are responsible for ensuring the health and safety of employees in the workplace. There are no two ways about this. Therefore, employers must take all appropriate precautions to ensure the physical well-being of their employees in the workplace. This includes investing in ergonomic furniture that is specifically designed for comfort and efficiency in the workplace.
What is it that makes ergonomic chairs such as a standing desk stool different from traditional office seating? Unlike the latter, they keep the body of the user in a safe and upright position. This reduces stress on the neck, spine, hips, and other vulnerable areas of the body to avoid the development of musculoskeletal disorders.
An ergonomic chair is designed in such a manner that it doesn’t let you exert a lot of pressure on your hips. This is possible thanks to the adjustability of this chair. Additionally, the seating is designed to allow users to get up and move more. This is known to boost productivity. With the benefits in mind, some countries have already made it compulsory for offices to offer sit/stand desks for their employees. Employers in these countries are fulfilling the requirement with standing desks and adjustable standing desk stools.
Today, an increasing number of employers in the U.S and abroad are offering these stools to their staff. There are several reasons for this including increasing workplace efficiency, improving employee health, and increasing mental alertness. However, the following are the 5 ergonomic benefits of the standing desk stool that are encouraging employers everywhere to offer these stools to their staff.
1. Less Strain on Knees
One of the primary benefits of using the standing stool is putting less strain on your knees. This is because it does not take too much effort to move from a leaning position on the stool to a fully upright standing position. On the other hand, rising from a traditional chair requires considerable effort and over time this leads to avoidable problems in the lower body.
2. Less Risk of Developing lower Limb Circulation Problems
One of the factors contributing to edema, which is swelling of the lower legs, is standing still for long periods of time. When you are not flexing your lower leg muscles, you limit their ability to pump blood through the circulatory system. A stool designed specifically for standing desks can solve this problem by allowing you to lean or sit from time-to-time. This allows you to flex the muscles of your lower legs to ensure proper circulation of blood in your lower body.
3. Increased Mental Alertness
A standing desk stool can help to increase cardiovascular activity in users. This is because of the open core stance and ability to flex the lower legs provided by the stool. The increase in cardiovascular activity of the users results in better oxygenation of their brain. This, in turn, results in increased mental alertness.
4. Less Risk of Developing Lower Back Pain
The lower back muscles need to stay in a state of constant tension when you stand with feet flat for long periods of time. Over time, the muscles start to tire, and this causes them to arch or bend. Often, this causes an unhealthy degree of ‘swayback’. Swayback is the state in which your anterior tilt causes you back pain.
While a standing desk has many benefits, it can potentially increase pain and fatigue in the back. However, you can avoid this by using a leaning stool with the desk. By allowing you to tilt the pelvis slightly forward, the stool can make it safer for you to bend forward and then return to your natural position. This ensures the strength, stability, and health of your entire body rather than just your lower back.
5. Increased Movement for Improved Health
By making it extremely easy for you to transition from a leaning position to a fully upright standing position, the stool ensures greater mobility and degree of movement throughout the day. This can potentially lower some of the risk associated with sitting for long periods.
As seen above, there are many ergonomic benefits to investing in a stool specifically designed for standing desks. So, make sure to get the required stock for your office!
