Should You Buy A Sit-Stand Desk?

BEACON TRANSCRIPT – When it comes to pulling long shifts at the desk, perhaps the most important aspect while working is your position. A new study asks the following question: health-wise, what is your best bet? Should you buy a sit-stand desk or just use a regular desk with a comfy chair?

While in college, most student dreams that one day they will be able to get a desk job. The perspective alone sounds fine, but, according to the doctors, such a job can take its toll on our health.

More specifically, the medical researchers have discovered that sitting in a chair for many hours can put a lot of strain on our spinal cord. Moreover, people working desk jobs are more likely to develop cardiovascular issues and to gain weight faster than other.

For this reason, the doctors often said that it’s important to know how to sit in a chair and how long to sit. Usually, doctors recommend their patients that after two hours of work, to take a little break and walk around for 10 to 15 minutes.

The study at hand goes far beyond recapitulating the correct body postures when working 9-to-5 desk jobs. An international team of medical researchers wanted to ascertain if interventions such as sit-stand desks or other devices could, in fact, reduce the risks associated with desk jobs.

For this reason, the team focused their attention on the sit-stand desk, a device that allows the user to sit in an upright position. It may seem pretty uncomfortable, but the team has its reasons to believe that working while standing is not at all related to additional health risks such as musculoskeletal pain or varicose veins.

Moreover, based on their assessment the design of a desk hardly influences productivity. In order to see how sit-stand desks fare in comparison to regular desks, the team of international scientists had to do additional research.

And so, the team consulted approximately 20 sit-stand desks-related articles, as well as other literature on how to improve working conditions. All in all, the study included nearly 2200 patients from around the world.

The team found out that people using sit-stand desks would sit 30 to 2 hours less at the desks working than people who use a regular desk.

Unfortunately, the study pointed out that in term of health benefits, the two desks sit out as equals. Furthermore, the team said that these intervention methods are designed to alleviate some of the symptoms attributed to a sedentary way of life only on a short-terms and that the best way to get rid of those extra pounds or to avoid developing back issues it to exercise regularly.

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