Sitting too much is seriously bad for your health.
People who sit a lot every day have an increased risk of diabetes, heart disease and early death.
In addition, sitting all the time burns very few calories, and many studies have linked it to weight gain and obesity.
This is a major problem for office workers, as they sit down for most of the day. Fortunately, all kinds of best standing desk are increasingly more popular.
1. Standing Lowers Your Risk of Weight Gain and Obesity
Weight gain is ultimately caused by taking in more calories than you burn.
Conversely burning more calories than you take in results in weight loss.
While exercise is the most effective way to burn calories quickly, simply choosing to stand instead of sitting can also be beneficial to your health.
In fact, when compared to an afternoon of sedentary work, an equal amount of time spent standing has been shown to burn over 170 additional calories.
That’s almost 1000 extra calories burned each week from simply standing at your desk each afternoon.
This caloric difference could be one of the reasons why sitting longer is so strongly linked to obesity and metabolic disease.
2. Using a Standing Desk May Lower Blood Sugar Levels
Generally speaking, the more your blood sugar levels increase after meals, the worse it is for your health.
This is especially true for those with insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes.
In a small study of 10 office workers, standing for 180 minutes after lunch reduced the blood sugar spike by 43%, compared to sitting for the same amount of time.
Both groups took the same amount of steps, indicating that the smaller spike was due to standing rather than additional physical movements around the office.
Another study of 23 office workers found that shifting between standing and sitting every 30 minutes throughout the workday reduced blood sugar spikes by 11.1% on average.
The harmful effects of sitting after meals could help explain why excessive sedentary time is linked to a enormous 112% greater risk of type 2 diabetes. Therefore, you may need an height adjustable desk to prevent these harmful effects.
3. Standing May Lower Your Risk of Heart Disease
The idea that standing is better for heart health first appeared in 1953.
A study found that bus conductors who stood all day had half the risk of heart disease-related deaths as their colleagues in the driver’s seats.
Since then, scientists have developed a much greater understanding of the effects of sitting on heart health, with prolonged sedentary time thought to increase the risk of heart disease by up to 147%.
It is so harmful that even an hour of intense exercise may not make up for the negative effects of an entire day spent sitting .
There is no doubt that spending more time on your feet with the help of a l shaped standing desk is beneficial for heart health
4. Standing Desks Appear to Reduce Back Pain
Back pain is one of the most common complaints that trouble office workers who sit all day. To improve this condition, some office workers choose a standing desk, or an ergonomic office chair.
To determine if a standing desk could improve this, several studies have been done on employees suffer from long-term back pain.
Participants have reported up to a 32% improvement in lower back pain after several weeks of using standing desks.
Another research published by the CDC found that use of a sit-stand desk reduced upper back and neck pain by 54% after just 4 weeks.
Additionally, removal of the sit stand desk reversed some of those improvements within a 2-week period.
5. Standing Desks Help Improve Mood and Energy Levels
Standing desks appear to have a positive influence on overall well-being.
In one 7-week study, participants using standing desks reported less stress and fatigue than those who remained seated the entire work day.
Additionally, 87% of those using standing desks, including small standing desk, reported increased vigor and energy throughout the day.
Upon returning to their old desks, overall moods reverted to original levels.
These findings align with broader research on sitting and mental health, which links sedentary time with an increased risk of both depression and anxiety.
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