Do Standing Desks Actually Improve Your Health?
New research calls into question the proposed solution to sitting all day.
Standing desks were supposed to be the answer.
Over the past few decades, sitting and stationary jobs have garnered much attention. Some claim it is the new smoking, wreaking havoc on our bodies and shortening our life expectancies. This is an overreaction.
As I have covered previously (link), smoking is far worse for our health than sitting. That doesn’t mean sitting can’t be harmful. Studies show that people who sit for more than 12 hours a day have a 38% higher risk of early death compared to those who sit for eight hours.
But what is it about sitting that makes it bad for you? Contrary to popular belief, sitting is not harmful because of the positioning of your body. We have mounds of research that debunks the postural modal of pain. Sitting isn’t causing extreme stress at your lower back, neck, or shoulders, wearing away your joints. Furthermore, posture isn't a primary driver of pain or injury.
Time, money, and effort are spent training employees on proper workplace ergonomics. Unfortunately, research doesn’t support those efforts. Setting up your workspace to a 90/90 position to optimize your posture won’t reduce the harm of sitting…
