Shall we Sit or Shall we Stand?

It is now common knowledge that office workers are working longer hours and that this is having a direct impact on our health. There has been a rise in the amount of work related injuries as we choose to stay seated in our office chairs at our office desks while working. The reason for this is that even though you may exercise before and after work, the time that you spend at work is mainly in a sedentary position.

There has been a rise in recent years for the purchasing of height adjustable desks that you can actually stand by and work at. For some however they might find this mad. Retail workers and bank cashiers tend to stand all day whilst at work and this does have negatives effects on the body. Standing all day whilst working can actually lead to problems such as varicose veins and in some very extreme cases, spontaneous miscarriages. With this in mind perhaps the answer is not to get rid of our chairs after all but to make sure that we use them properly.

The main reason for the rise in height adjustable desks, including treadmill desks is that too much sitting can actually lead to higher risk diseases such as cancer and diabetes as well as cardiovascular diseases. The reason for this is that when you remain in a sedentary position for a long period of time the the enzyme that is designed to take the fat out of the blood stream drops in production leaving the fat to flow around your body. There is no definite answer to whether we should just stand or just sit at work, but a combination of both. The recommended maximum time that you should spend just sitting at your desk before moving is 30 minutes. This does included getting up and walking around.