Definition
Many jobs encourage unhealthy, sedentary behavior. Standing at work can improve your health, productivity and cognitive ability.
How to Do It
Stand up during working hours on a regular basis.
Benefits
- Improves productivity and cognition[5,7]
- Reduces risk of heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes and other serious illnesses[1,2]
- Improves posture and reduces back pain[3,4]
Time Commitment
30 minutes to 1 hour
Why it works
- Sitting requires very little energy or muscle use. Being sedentary for many hours every work day can cause inactivity related diseases like diabetes, obesity and heart disease. Simply increasing activity levels by standing reduces the risk of ill-health due to one or all of these diseases [1,2].
- Sitting encourages the lower back muscles to contract, which can cause the spine to curve in such a way that leads to lower back pain and poor neck alignment. By standing more often, you can allow back muscles to relax and regain their normal posture [3,4].
- Excessive sitting can depreciate mood and focus. Standing regularly negates these effects and therefore improves productivity [5,7].
Suggested Frequency
Once a day
Supporting Studies and Articles
- https://www.flexchair.nl/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2017/05/sitting_time_and_mortality_from_all_causes.pdf
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168822712002082
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1050641112001721
- https://europepmc.org/abstract/med/17918502
- https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-015-1447-5
- https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/rnj.166
- https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-015-1447-5
Side Effects
Prolonged standing (>6 hours) can cause back pain. Regular prolonged standing can cause heart problems[6]. Standing for just one hour a day, however, should not have serious negative health outcomes.
Gurus/Celebrities/Doing it
Jimmy Kimmel
Felicia Day
Jack Black
Steve Harvey
Spike Lee
Category Health/Productivity/Mood:
- Health
- Productivity
Suggested Time of Day
During working hours
Notes
- Some workplaces have sit-stand desks that make standing at work easy.
- If you feel it is impractical to stand while working, stand during your lunch break.
- When you are sitting, an upright posture is much better for the muscles of the lower spine.
- If you can, alternate between sitting and standing throughout the day.
- If working while standing up is not an option take regular breaks at least every hour and stand up and move around during each break.
