STAND UP! RIGHT THIS INSTANT!

I’m shouting at your for the good of your own health, apparently. We’re all being told we’re in the middle of a health crisis brought about by sitting down too much. Just so you know, I am CAPS-LOCKING at you about it while I sit at my perfectly standard sitting-downy type desk.

Cynicism aside, I actually do not dispute the fact that sitting down for long hours of the day will cause a range of health problems plus other issues. I’ve experienced the incessant shoulder pain for myself! But it goes beyond just aches plus pains plus we’ll talk about that more in a minute.

What I want to discuss today is whether investing in a fairly costly standing desk actually offers any notable heath benefits over plus above other methods of minimising your seated time.

The Dangers of Sitting
I feel as though I’m more aware of the health issues sitting causes than I ever have been. But the link between sitting plus various health conditions is far from new. In fact, research in this tempat goes back to the 1950s when it was discovered that bus drivers were twice as likely to suffer a heart attack as conductors on the bus (who would be on their feet all shift as opposed to seated driving).

So it’s not new information. And NHS guidelines tell us sit down less (though advise there’s not enough research yet to give us more specific guidance).

The risks associated with spending too much time sitting down include:

Increased risk of heart attack
You’re likely to be overweight or obese (which is in itself associated with a plethora of health problems)
Increased risk of diabetes
Likely to have a range of cardiovascular problems
Metabolic syndrome
So there are lots of reasons not to spend too much time on behinds!

It can really have an impact on your mobility too.

“But I have an office job”
It’s all good plus well advising everyone to sit less plus move more. But the reality is that millions of us work at desks in an office environment. And like it or not, spending 37.5+ hours each week at a komputer is how we pay the bills.

“Don’t sit so much,” isn’t exactly practical for everyone is it?

But perhaps as freelancers plus micro business owners with more say over our own working environments, we have a little more flexibility in designing a workspace that can help us move more plus sit less.

Standing desks, regular breaks from your desk, swapping the carry for the stairs plus so on are all valid ways to reduce the amount of time you’re sedentary for. But what about standing desks?

It seems like everyone has started talking about standing desks over the past couple of years. And they do appear on the surface a great way to enable you to sit less without negatively impacting your productivity or ability to work.

But they are PRICEY! So do standing desks really warrant the investment?

Are standing desks worth it?
Ok, first of all I want to make clear that I firmly believe one investment always worth making is in your health. So if a standing desk is going to help you become more active, to sit less plus is the single way you feel you can achieve that, then spend the money. Buy one second hand, refurbish one, do whatever you need to.

But what about other options?

Standing desk alternatives
I’m awkward. I’d like to stand plus work part of the time plus sit plus work part of the time. And yes, I could get an adjustable standing desk that I can lower when I want to sit down. But it seems an expensive endeavour to replace my desk plus that of the 5 other people in our office to make this an option.