Undoubtedly, inactivity is bad for us. have to sit for a long time It is consistently linked to higher risks of heart disease and death.The obvious response to this terrible fate is to sit, not to move. even a few moments of exercise There may be benefits, Studies suggestBut in our modern times, it is difficult to avoid sitting, especially in the office. This has given rise to many strategies for propping yourself up, including the rise of the standing desk. If you have to be desk bound, at least you can do it on your feet, the thinking goes.
However, studies on whether standing desks are beneficial have been scarce and sometimes inconclusive. Apart from this, standing for a long time can also cause harm. It has its risks, And data of work related meetings has also been mixed. While the final verdict on standing desks is still unclear, two studies this year offer the most nuanced evidence yet about the potential benefits and risks of working on your feet.
take a seat
Over the years, studies have shown that markers for standing desks improve cardiovascular and metabolic healthSuch as lipid levels, insulin resistance, and arterial flow-mediated dilation (the ability of arteries to widen in response to increased blood flow). But it's not clear how important these improvements are for preventing poor health outcomes like heart attacks. A 2018 analysis Suggested benefits may be modest,
And there are good reasons to be skeptical about standing desks. For one, standing—like sitting—is not walking. If lack of movement and exercise is the root problem, standing still will not be a solution.
Yet, while sitting and standing can arguably be combined into a single category of “stable”, some researchers have argued that not all sitting is the same. In the 2018 position paper Published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, two health experts argued that the association between poor health and sitting was specific to the specific population being examined and the “particular contribution of sitting time at home, for example, to the 'couch'”. The effect of potatoes can reach.
Two researchers—emeritus professors David Rempel, formerly at the University of California, San Francisco, and Niklas Krauss, formerly at UCLA—pointed to several studies specifically looking at occupational sitting time and poor health outcomes. , which have reached mixed results. For example, 2013 analysis No association was found between sitting at work and heart disease. Although the study suggested an association between mortality and mortality, this association was only in women. there was also A 2015 study of about 36,500 workers in Japan Who were followed for an average of 10 years. That study found that there was no association between mortality and sitting time among salaried workers, professionals, and people working in home occupations. However, there was an association between mortality rates and people working in the farming, forestry and fishing industries.
Nevertheless, despite some ambiguity in the specifics, recent studies continue to reveal links between sitting for long periods of time– Wherever there is sitting – and poor health outcomes, especially heart disease. This has maintained interest in standing desks in offices, where people don't always have the luxury of frequent movement breaks. And this, in turn, has set researchers to try to answer whether standing at a desk has any benefits.