7 good reasons why you need a height-adjustable desk

With trends showing that we are spending more and more time sitting, there has never been a better time to consider the benefits of a height-adjustable desk. Take a closer look and discover what it can do for work efficiency, personal well-being, and the health-economic profile of any company.

Studies in EU countries clearly show that we are becoming increasingly sedentary among employees. Among managers, 17% of respondents sat for more than 8 hours and 30 minutes. For other employees, this figure is even 19%. Worryingly, this number is even higher among young people: 51% of 15- to 24-year-olds sit for more than 5 hours and 30 minutes a day, compared to 38-41% of older people. Unfortunately, the health implications of these figures are well known. Increasing obesity, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes can all be linked to our increasingly sedentary lifestyle.

Developing a solution starts with understanding the problem. So let's take a look at the reasons why sitting still for too long can be bad for us.

• When sitting seemingly comfortably, the abdominal muscles relax. This can deform the back into a round back.
• Sitting with a rounded back puts particular strain on the intervertebral discs, which are also less well supplied with essential nutrients.
• Prolonged sitting stresses internal organs, especially digestive organs.
• Blood circulation to the extremities can be reduced and muscle stiffness or tension can occur.
• Regular and prolonged sitting causes muscles to atrophy.
• Prolonged sitting worsens the cardiovascular system.

The solution: Spend some of your sitting time standing with the help of a height-adjustable desk.

Height-adjustable desks are becoming increasingly popular in offices. And rightly so: height-adjustable desks allow for an uncomplicated change of working posture, from sitting to standing and back again. Investing in height-adjustable desks pays off, as they can prevent avoidable back pain, increase employee performance, concentration, and motivation, and minimize downtime.

7 compelling reasons why you need a height-adjustable desk

1. Avoids annoying back pain

Back pain is one of the most common complaints among office workers who sit all day.

Dietrich Grönemeyer notes that today more than 80% of the population in industrialized countries complain about back pain (Prof. Dr. Dietrich Grönemeyer, Mein Rückenbuch, Verlag Zabert Sandmann, 2004).

Many studies have examined how a standing desk affects office workers with long-term back pain. The "Take-a-Stand Project" from 2011 found that participants who spent an average of 66 minutes of their workday standing experienced 54% less upper back and neck pain.

In just over an hour a day, the "Take-a-Stand Project" participants achieved dramatic results. Imagine what standing could do for you!

2. Lower the risk of heart disease

The idea that standing is better for heart health was first proposed in 1953. Over 60 years ago, a study of bus conductors found that those who stood all day had half the risk of dying from heart disease as seated bus drivers.

Sixty years later, a comparison of 18 studies involving nearly 800,000 participants yielded the same results as the original bus conductor study. They concluded that a sedentary lifestyle was associated with a 90% increased risk of cardiovascular mortality and a 147% increased risk of heart disease compared to an active lifestyle.

It is so detrimental that even an hour of intense exercise cannot offset the negative effects of a full day of sitting.

There is no doubt that spending more time on your feet is beneficial for heart health.

3. Up to 20% more brain power

Research shows that too much sitting has negative effects on the body and brain. When you sit in one position for hours, your blood pressure is likely to rise, which can be dangerous. Standing desks help people work in an upright position and move more naturally. This is also associated with higher productivity.

On average, active adults gain an hour of productivity per day because their circulation and cardiovascular system improve with regular physical activity. The total benefit can be up to 13 hours per day. Studies have shown that standing desks can increase productivity by up to 20%. One reason for this is that standing improves collaboration among colleagues, which can lead to things getting done faster.

4. Significantly less fatigue at work

Another explanation for the increased productivity mentioned in the last point is that height-adjustable desks allow their users to be more physically active, which increases blood flow and oxygen levels in the blood. When more oxygen-rich blood is pumped to the brain, it helps to think more clearly, concentrate better, and work much more efficiently. Overall, people who work standing up feel more awake and energetic during working hours.

5. Better mood in the office

Sitting and prolonged sedentary activity are associated with an increased risk of depression and anxiety. So it stands to reason that standing would improve mood and increase feelings of happiness.

During the "Take-a-Stand Project" in 2011, a group of 24 office workers was provided with a standing desk. The participants themselves reported that their mood improved over the four-week study as they reduced the time they spent sitting by an average of 66 minutes.

At the end of the 4-week intervention period, participants were asked a series of questions about the specific benefits of alternating between sitting and standing. Their responses were as follows:

"87% felt more comfortable, 87% felt more energized, 75% felt healthier, 71% felt more focused, 66% felt more productive, 62% felt happier, and 33% felt less stressed after installing the sit-stand unit at their workplace."

Interestingly, participants' mood worsened when the sit-stand desks were removed. This suggests that using a standing desk must be part of a comprehensive lifestyle adjustment to achieve full benefits.

6. Standing reduces the risk of weight gain and obesity

People who stand for most of the day enjoy a number of benefits. Dr. John Barkley from the University of Chester found in a study that the heart beats an average of 10 times per minute while standing. That makes a difference of 0.7 calories per minute.

Weight gain is ultimately caused by consuming more calories than you burn. Conversely, burning more calories than you consume leads to weight loss. This means that you can burn over 43,000 more calories over the course of a year! If you stand for 4 hours a day, 5 days a week, you will burn over 6 kg per year.

Sitting requires little to no energy, but standing activates your body and burns fat.

This calorie difference could be one reason why prolonged sitting is so strongly associated with obesity and metabolic diseases.

7. Saves money in the long run

Companies in particular benefit from height-adjustable desks. According to the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering, German companies incur 35 billion euros in damages each year due to absenteeism and productivity losses caused by back pain. Reduced absenteeism due to better health therefore also serves a company's profitability. Investing in height-adjustable desks therefore saves money in the long run.