Summary Adults who stood for 2 hours while working experienced an increase in whole-body discomfort
ISLAMABAD (Online) – My standing desk arrived earlier this month. Having written many articles about the harms of prolonged sitting, I was very excited to give it a go. So, imagine my dismay when I see this latest study: standing desks might not be so beneficial after all.
Researchers suggest that standing desks may not be as beneficial as we think. Yep. According to new research, it turns out that "prolonged standing" is bad for us, too.
The study — which was conducted by scientists from Curtin University in Australia — found that adults who stood for 2 hours while working experienced an increase in whole-body discomfort and a reduced mental state.
I expect many of you are reading this thinking that you just can t win. I certainly am.
Earlier this year, Medical News Today covered a study that linked sitting down for long periods of time with a buildup of visceral fat, or fat around our internal organs. This is the worst kind of fat — the kind that raises our risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
In 2016, another study that we reported on claimed that sitting down for more than 3 hours every day is responsible for more than 430,000 deaths across 54 countries.
Given that the average person in the United States spends a whopping 12 hours per day sitting down, such studies are worrying.
It seems that upping our physical activity alone won t reduce the harms of prolonged sitting — so, what can we do?
According to recent research, we need to reduce the amount of time that we spend sitting down. Enter the standing desk: a simple solution to a big problem. Or is it?
Prolonged standing increased discomfort
In response to what has been coined "sitting disease," standing desks have become all the rage.
Research has shown that standing desks not only decrease the amount of time people spend sitting in the workplace, but they have also been linked to increased productivity.
