Have you heard of this new trend?… Work surfaces that actually move up and down with you to suit sitting or standing work at your convenience.
The electric ones allow you to raise and lower the surface in as little as five seconds! Neat, huh?
It’s called Sit-to-Stand, and it’s becoming a lot more than a trend because of the health benefits and flexibility associated with it.
Workers experience discomfort, distraction and a wealth of health issues sitting for 8 hours or longer at their workstations with little fluctuation in posture. Sitting puts 40% more pressure on your spine than standing. Even if you exercise, too much sitting throughout your day can cause health problems down the road. According to the New York Times, studies show that standing and moving for five to twenty minutes every hour can improve your health. The body is happiest when it can enjoy a variety of postures throughout the day
By getting up to stand, muscle contractions jump start circulation, fatigue is lowered and one can re-focus on their tasks at hand without stopping work. Moving throughout the day also helps to regulate blood pressure and lowers the risk of heart disease. Companies lose money each year due to workplace injuries and back pain, and Sit-to-Stand could help solve that problem.
But, how does it work? You can retrofit your work surface with height adjustable legs that are created for your current work surface, or you can get a new adjustable table. There are electric and manual ones on the market today to suit many budgets and needs. The electric ones only use as much energy as is needed to power a LED light. There are some variations to this concept of moving at work. Instead of a desk that does the moving, some people have adopted the idea of having a standing height desk with a stool to sit on as needed. Others have even started incorporating treadmills at their height adjustable desks. Talk about revolutionary.
With millennials and younger generations entering into the workforce looking for these revolutionary and empowering work spaces, Sit-to-Stand came at the perfect time. These younger generations describe work environments with Sit-to-Stand as more enjoyable because they can work the best way they see fit. Millennials are a “generation of choice,” and this gives them just that.
Schools are even beginning to adopt this idea. Vallecito in California was able to put all standing desks in a class, and they have noticed that the kids have become more engaged. Researchers at Texas A&M University observed kids in Sit-to-Stand environments (standing height desks with stools for sitting), and they noticed more active participation. A staff member at The Loh Down on Science noted that, “It’s pretty hard to fall asleep in class when you’re standing.”
It is estimated that within the next fifteen years, everything will be height adjustable or stand only with stools. That’s enough to make traditional desk workers want to smile.