You may have noticed that our receptionists stand at the front desk instead of sitting. Here are our favourite reasons why!

1. Reduce back pain. One of the most common health complaints amongst office workers is back pain caused by prolonged sitting. Studies on employees with long-term back pain showed that participants saw up to a 32% improvement in lower back pain after a few weeks of using standing desks. It can also reduce upper back and neck pain by up to 54% after just a month!
2. Standing generally puts your spine in a healthier position and allows for better circulation throughout your body. Think about when you sit, how pushed and compressed your organs can become. Imagine how difficult it must be for them to function well when they’re in that state!
3. Improve mood and energy levels. Standing desks appear to have a positive effect on our overall well-being. One study found that standing desks can lower stress and fatigue as well as improve our energy and mood levels. Broader research on sitting and mental health indicates sedentary hours with an increased risk of depression and anxiety.
4. Weight Management. When standing at a desk, your body burns more calories because your muscles are working to keep you upright.  These extra calories burned help lower your risk of weight gain and obesity.  Studies have shown that by standing at your desk you could burn almost 1000 extra calories each week than you would if you were sitting during those hours.
5. Lower blood sugar and reduce your risk of heart disease. Standing or walking after meals helps your body reduce blood sugar spikes and it’s well established that being on your feet is better for your heart health. Some studies have shown that even an hour of intense exercise may not make up for the negative effects of sitting all day.

For many of us, a typical work day could be spent mostly sitting down. Sitting at a desk, travelling to and from work and then sitting at home while eating or watching television. This sedentary lifestyle can have many negative impacts on our health. In our office we want your body to function well, so we encourage you to incorporate standing and walking into your days where possible.

If you are starting out with a standing desk, it’s recommended to split your time 50/50 between standing and sitting until your body has become accustomed to it.

With all these benefits of standing instead of sitting, it’s easy to see why our team has opted for standing desks in our office! We love our height-adjustable one from Stand Desk. The changeable height works really well for our chiropractors on their longer days!

References:

• Breaking up workplace sitting time with intermittent standing bouts improves fatigue and musculoskeletal discomfort in overweight/obese office workers. (2014)
• Impact of a Sit-Stand Workstation on Chronic Low Back Pain: Results of a Randomized Trial. (2016)
• Interindividual variation in posture allocation: possible role in human obesity. (2005)
• Minimal intensity physical activity (standing and walking) of longer duration improves insulin action and plasma lipids more than shorter periods of moderate to vigorous exercise (cycling) in sedentary subjects when energy expenditure is comparable. (2013)
• Prospective study of sedentary behavior, risk of depression, and cognitive impairment. (2014)
• Reducing occupational sitting time and improving worker health: the Take-a-Stand Project, 2011. (2012)
• Sedentary time and its association with risk for disease incidence, mortality, and hospitalization in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. (2015)
• Sedentary time in adults and the association with diabetes, cardiovascular disease and death: systematic review and meta-analysis. (2012)
• Standing-based office work shows encouraging signs of attenuating post-prandial glycaemic excursion. (2014)
• The association between sedentary behaviour and risk of anxiety: a systematic review. (2015)