A riches of scientific research usher us that regularly sitting for long stint of time has severe consequence for both mental and physical health – and yet reckoner - ground , industrial societies make it highly difficult to avoida sedentary lifestyle .
One recently proposed answer to our epidemic of inactivity is to shift from a standard to a standing desk at work ; thus boosting natural process during the 40 hour a workweek that adults with office jobs would otherwise spend sit . Word - of - mouth and marketing campaign – plump for up by very few strong academic study – have assert that this set - up can boost productivity and benefit long - terminus wellness .
Now , a small study from Australia is take exception the perceive superiority of stand desks with the determination that increased physical irritation can arise after just two hour of habit .
The investigation , release in the journalErgonomics , include 20 adults senesce 18 to 38 who bring a mix of resist vs sedentary jobs . They were apprise to stand at a by rights aligned standing desk and use a figurer for two hours , during which body status and mental state were assessed every half minute .
By the end of the experimentation , participants reported a significant increment in discomfort in the lower back and lower tree branch area , and lower limb swelling was documented . Cognitive tests show that originative problem - solving acquirement were conserve throughout the full stop , but chemical reaction time and fatigue grade worsened .
Although these effect must be taken with a monumental grain of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks thanks to the tiny study size of it , deficiency of a sitting control group , and single data - gather period , the overall content stands in contrast to the aforementioned lowly handful of investigations touting the benefit of working upright .
Chief among them is awidely circulated 2015 studysuggested that call center employees could be up to 53 percent more productive than their sitting co - worker when given a standing desk set - up for six months . And just last calendar month , a newspaper headline - grab paper reported that make the electrical switch from sitting to standing at work cause the torso to burn2.5 kg ( 5.5 pounds ) of fatover one year .
On close inspection , however , the first study had ahost of problems , and the 2d one only accounted for metabolic changes and ignored possible side effects .
On the other paw , a well - conducted 12 - year cogitation published in theAmerican Journal of Epidemiologyfound that adults in occupations that involve standing most of the time have twice the risk of pith disease , belike due to chronic imperativeness in the veins and increasedoxidative accent .
And in a painful blow to standing desk legitimacy , a2016 Cochrane reviewof 29 studies resolve that there ’s no quality grounds to support that users of adjustable sit - stand desk actually sit less during the twenty-four hours .
" The bottom line is that this expanding upon [ of standing desks ] has been driven more by commercial reasons than scientific grounds , " said Alan Taylor , a physical therapy expert not involved in the inquiry to theWashington Post . " But the evidence is enamour up and it ’s show there are some drawbacks . "
