Why You Don't Need a Standing Desk?

Are you standing at your ‘desk job’ and wondering if this will help you reduce stubborn fat?

You’re just caught in the hyped-up fever of ‘standing desk rage.’

A women’s desk is the best while sitting.

Not every hype is worth giving in. You should be able to make distinctions between whims and needs.

The muscular effect that sitting and standing have on health is the same.

Read till the end to know why sitting is better despite all the latest fads.

What’s Wrong With Sitting?

With prolonged and breakless periods of sitting, health issues are increasing in the form of obesity and increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

It can also lead to musculoskeletal complaints, particularly in the neck and back.

There are plenty of other issues that one might face, which include:

Reduced blood flow to the legs and brain.
Decreased blood vessel health.
Lowered production of substances that help control blood sugar levels and cholesterol.
Increased risk of obesity.
Increased risk of diabetes.

As per studies, researchers have found that those who sit for 12 hours or more a day have significantly higher mortality rates than those sitting for less than 5 hours per day.

But there’s a twist to it. As per a study in 2015 from the Journal of Physical Activity & Health, the context matters regarding sitting.

They claim sedentary time is a marker, not the cause, of bad outcomes.

People sitting in the workplace do not have the same effect as the ones sitting idly or unemployed.

The idly unemployed have serious issues, whereas the ones sitting at work do not reflect such serious issues in the long run.

Advantages of Standing at Office

Now that you know the potential harms of sitting at a desk for women and men, the pros of standing and working there are somewhat exciting.

In the following segment, we will enlist a few advantages of standing at your desk job.

Energy: While sitting can make you sluggish, standing at work will keep the blood flowing and the mind more alert. You will zone out less at the meetings.
Posture: Sitting around the whole day at work leads to pain in the back and tailbone due to bad posture. This problem is cut off by standing at the desk job. It helps to maintain good posture and better core health.
Interactions: When you sit and work in the cubicles, you miss out on many things happening, and the FOMO kicks in. The standing job will help reduce this FOMO and increase the frequency of interaction with colleagues with just a look of the eye.

Does Standing Desk Solve The Problem?

Many workplaces have adopted the sit-stand desk work culture to foster better health of employees. But are the standing desks helpful?

While prolonged sitting can be harmful, so can excessive standing.

Excessive standing or walking can lead to musculoskeletal symptoms such as fatigue, leg swelling, varicose veins, and pain and discomfort in the lower back and lower extremities.

The desks will only add to the problem if proper measures are not adopted.

Disadvantages of Standing at ‘Desk Job’

Let’s understand the cons of standing at the office.

Health: While sitting brings pain due to bad posture, standing all day will lead to leg soreness. It becomes uncomfortable to work with focus when you have sore feet.
Privacy: Privacy is a gift to introverts. While standing and working, everyone can see what you are doing and be eye-to-eye with everyone. Pfff! That is one hell of a nightmare.
Long day: A long day at work will be rough with a standing desk due to the extra fatigue. With continuous standing for extended hours, one ought to feel tired and maybe agitated.

Save yourself from all these troubles and invest in a comfortable sit-stand desk.

The Journal of Physical Activity and Health says we burn 80 calories/hour while sitting.

Compared to that, standing burns only eight more calories/hour, i.e., 88 calories/hour.

This depicts that standing alone does not add to any specific health benefits. Walking can burn 210 calories/hour, though.

But unfortunately, one cannot walk and work on a system. One can do it, but it is not practically possible.

Another report published by the University of California, San Francisco, states, “Well-meaning safety professionals and some office furniture manufacturers are pushing sit-stand workstations to improve cardiovascular health — but there is no scientific evidence to support this recommendation.”

The emphasis is on ‘not sitting’ and not standing. ‘Not sitting’ can mean walking, pacing, or just standing.

Taking a light walk after every 30-45 minutes can work better than standing all day. It will also help you boost concentration and reduce irritability.

Replacing sitting with standing does not fulfill the recommendation of healthy habits and may even mislead people into thinking they’re doing enough activity.

The illusion of ‘doing enough’ will never yield satisfactory results. You don’t need a standing desk, let alone the expensive ones.

Frequent breaks during working hours and regular workouts will keep you in shape and prevent any serious disease for as long as possible.

Let’s make the comparison easy for your understanding:

Standing Table	Traditional Table
Adjustable height	Non-comforting adjust
Promotes easy motion	Sedentary
Promotes good posture	Irregular back pains due to bad posture
Lack of focused concentration	Stimulates concentration for some time