What Is a Sit-Stand Workstation?

Flexibility and comfort are two very important aspects of a healthy work environment — albeit often overlooked. To alleviate some of the stress on your body, it could be worth looking into a sit stand workstation.

Let’s take a look at what exactly this is and how to determine whether it’s the right fit for you and your lifestyle.

Easy & Affordable Standing Desk

The TechOrbits Standing Desk allows you to easily switch between sitting and standing. The benefits of this high-quality desk are amazing. A standing desk reduces back pain, improves circulation, and can even lower your blood pressure.

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What is a Sit-Stand Workstation?

A sit-stand workstation is a unique desk that allows the user to alternate between sitting and standing by being able to lower or raise the work surface. These workstations let you integrate movement into your workday and even provide adjustability for shared workstations. This particular desk setup can work really well for the following.

Desk-bound: If you sit at a desk for eight hours a day and five days a week without much time to stand, then your body could be well-suited for a sit-stand workstation. This is especially true if you ever feel discomfort from sitting too long.
Back pain: If you experience back pain or soreness after sitting for an extended period of time, standing up on a more regular basis could ease those issues.
Shared desk: If you alternate sitting at one particular desk with another coworker, a sit-stand desk is perfect to adjust to the right height for both of you.

Having a nice balance between sitting and standing is actually the ideal means to a healthy outcome — you just need to avoid sitting or standing for too long. Getting in a rhythm and sticking with it helps.

Here are some helpful tips:

Sitting Down

When seated at your desk, be sure to move around whenever possible. A good way to do this is by using the 20/20/20 Rule: Every 20 minutes, stand for 20 seconds and focus your eyes on something 20 feet away from your screen. You can also try holding a standing or walking meeting as opposed to a regular sit-down one.

Standing Up

When standing at your desk, be sure to take regular sitting breaks. Also, move around when you can as opposed to standing still. If you can, try using a foot rest or anti-fatigue mat to encourage movement in your lower limbs and avoid foot discomfort.

Benefits of a Sit-Stand Workstation

Standing at your desk for at least 30 minutes (four hours total per day) can have a major impact on your body and health? And that’s just the tip of the iceberg regarding the healthy benefits a sit-stand workstation can offer.

Reduced Back Pain

About 80% of adults will experience some form of back pain over their lifetimes, and it is one of the most common complaints of office workers who stay seated all day. According to a study from the National Library of Medicine, patients who used a sit-stand workstation and worked at improving their sedentary behavior experienced a 50 percent decrease in lower back pain compared to a control group that did nothing.

Lower Risk of Heart Disease

A study by the European Society of Cardiology found that spending less time sitting and more time standing helps to lower blood sugar, cholesterol and weight – all contributing factors to heart disease. Utilizing a sit-stand workstation is a wonderful way to keep your heart on the healthy track.

Burn Up Calories

Standing burns more calories than sitting. If you stand while working at your desk, you can burn about 50 extra calories an hour and reduce the risk of weight gain.

Think about it like this: If you stand at work for three hours each day of the five-day work week, you would end up burning 750 calories.

Lower Blood Sugar

A study published in the National Library of Medicine showed that standing for 185 minutes after lunch reduced the workers’ blood sugar levels by 43% compared to sitting for the same time period. To prove that the workers with the lower levels did by merely standing, they were fitted with pedometers which showed that there were no significant changes in physical movements.

All of this is to say you can help reduce blood sugar spikes and your risk of diabetes just by using a sit-stand workstation.

Improve Mood and Energy

Sitting sedentary for an extended amount of time has been shown to increase both anxiety and depression. Because of this, it is theorized that standing would inversely improve your mood and increase your productivity.

Choosing a Sit-Stand Workstation

There is a wide range of different sit-stand workstations to choose from, depending on your own personal preference. To get you started, we selected a couple that really stand out and listed them below.

NewHeights Elegante XT Standing Desk

This desk may be a bit on the pricey side, however, we think it’s worth every penny.

It features custom extruded aluminum columns, a large 27-inch adjustment range and a conservative 325 lbs lifting capacity. A closer look inside the very stable columns and you’ll find high quality components like the German manufactured gears and motors from Ketterer. Plus, it also comes with a premium electronics pack from Laing Innotech, with a lifetime warranty on the complete desk.

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Uplift v2 Commercial Standing Desk

This more affordable standing desk is stable with a heavy traditional cross support system. It features a six-way accelerometer for better collision avoidance, an expandable frame design and a wide adjustment range. It also includes an overload protection system that engages at its maximum weight capacity.

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VariDesk Electric Sit Stand Desktop Workstation

This standing desk is also very stable and strong, featuring a single piece steel cross support. It easily assembles in a relatively short amount of time and has a wide adjustment range. It also includes a spacious solid work surface as well as a conveniently standard programmable switch.