To Stand or Not To Stand: That is The Question
It seems like the current requirements to be a Bay Area startup include catered lunch, yoga Wednesdays, a kegerator in the kitchen and of course, every work space equipped with a standing desk. Am I jealous about these awesome job perks I just listed, well yeah, who wouldn’t be? Funny thing is, only one of these perks listed is shrouded in a health controversy destined to go on for years. And if you read the title of this post, you guessed it, it’s the standing desk. Sure, in the last few years they have been all the rave, but are they THAT beneficial to your health? Let’s break it down and find out.
When you really get into the research behind the effects of sitting or standing for prolonged periods of time, the results go back and forth. A research study published in The Journal of Physical Activity and Health found that there was a relationship between total sitting time throughout the day and increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Although they suggest more research should be done on this topic, there have been many other studies finding similar results.
On the flip side, there have been many articles and research studies that have touched on the common misconception that standing is better for you than sitting. Using a small sample size, researches published a study in an Ergonomics journal that attempted to determine how work positions other than sitting may impact a lab-based computer worker. The practitioners found that after two hours of standing, overall discomfort increased, reaction time and mental state decreased and creative problem-solving improved. The researches final two cents, “Prolonged standing should be undertaken with caution.”
So where do we go from here? Let’s forget about sitting and standing for a second and introduce the idea of daily walking during the workday.
A study published in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health examined the effects of sitting, standing and walking on one’s energy expenditure. Researchers found that while the difference in energy expenditure between sitting and standing was minimal (statistically insignificant), the energy expenditure while walking was significantly greater than both sitting and standing. Although this study has some limitations, some of which being the time periods of body positions were very short (15 minutes), it tells us that standing is not burning that many more calories than sitting. And both of which don’t even come close to walking! Now when you extrapolate this data, standing half a work day results in more calories being burned than sitting half a work day, but the amount is minimal. To summarize this article in one simple sentence: please understand that standing IS NOT exercise and should never be considered as a substitute for exercise!!!
The last piece of information I will present to you is a study published in The Journals of Gerontology. In this study, researchers examined the metabolic effects of breaking prolonged sitting with light walking or standing in an older population. The metabolic markers measured have the potential to determine if one is at risk for Type 2 Diabetes. The researchers found that ONLY light walking and NOT standing produced clinically meaningful improvements in metabolic health markers.
If you’re still with me, I applaud you, I ended up writing more than I thought I would. Now that we have these four studies to reflect on, lets clarify where I stand on the matter.
I think standing desks are great, I also don’t have a problem with sitting. If I could tell you exactly what to do every single day, I would say to do a little of both. Sitting is not the enemy, so long as you are not sitting all day at work, then going home and sitting on your couch the rest of the evening. Transitioning between both sitting, standing, and a few 10-minute walks throughout the day is ideal. It will not only allow your body to feel different positions, but it will get your blood flowing and keep your energy level high. In the coming blog posts, we will get more into the actual ergonomics of both sitting and standing to make sure we don’t end up with any aches or pains from poor posture.
As always, thanks for reading. Please leave any comments below and make sure to subscribe for updates!
Dr. Nick Santos