The Benefits of Standing Desks
Less sitting is better for your overall health and well-being, according to Mayo Clinic. That’s why standing desks are becoming more important in the workplace and at home. Those who sit for more than eight hours a day have an elevated risk of dying, Mayo Clinic notes. In fact, there’s a term for this syndrome: sitting disease. With this in mind, the benefits of working at a standing desk are clear.
Though many physicians advise that standing up all day at a desk may cause fatigue and other issues, a combination of working in intervals of sitting and standing can be beneficial. The more time you spend being sedentary during the day, the more likely you are to develop diabetes, circulation problems, back pains, curvature of the spine and a host of other issues. In addition, your body tires more easily when it’s sedentary for long bouts of time during the day. One solution to the problem is using a stand-up desk.
Add-On or Permanent?
When it comes to choosing a stand-up desk, it helps to know the basics of design and functionality. The first thing to determine is whether you prefer an add-on that can turn your current desk into a standing desk or if you prefer a completely new all-in-one stand up desk. The two options are very different.
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An add-on attachment sits directly on top of your existing desk or table to convert it into a standing workspace. It’s an adjustable work surface that you put on a larger work surface. There are various designs on the market, and they’re meant to be stable while sitting on your desk, holding laptops or monitors that weigh 10 or more pounds.
A full-size sit-stand desk lets you adjust your entire work surface for sitting or standing, depending on your needs. The complete desktop is adjustable. Depending on the size of the table, it can also hold heavier technology. Whether you choose an add-on or a full-size desk, you may want to adjust it multiple times during the day for your comfort.
Electric or Manual?
Choose a standing desk to make adjustments as easy as possible for yourself. There are two types of standing desks. There’s a manual height-adjusting desk and one that adjusts electronically with the touch of a button.
Manually adjustable desks are less costly, and they’re designed to be easy to handle. Most of the time, the manual adjustment happens via a hand crank. Make sure that the hand crank is in a comfortable position for you to reach throughout the day. Though it may seem daunting to crank a desk up or down, the mechanics of a hand crank make it smooth, quiet and safe for users. It can take a few dozen cranks to get a manual table to go from sitting to standing and vice versa. It just adds a little more exercise to your day.
Standing tables that are electronically height adjustable need to sit by an appropriate electrical outlet. Preset and predetermined heights take the guesswork out of adjustments. Some tables also come with remote control pads for ease.
Streamlined or Storage?
Many all-in-one standing desks are simply streamlined tables. They may not come with many or any drawers, shelves or storage in order to make the table lightweight. That may mean you need room for rolling storage cabinets. Make sure you get the right size all-in-one standing desk so you can fit all of your technology and devices on the surface.
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You can find a few all-in-one standing desks with narrow drawers to accommodate small items. You can find tables with pull-out keyboard trays. Some narrow adjustable tables have shelves, but those models are small and made more for using a laptop in short bursts of work rather than for day-long work.
If you buy a standing attachment for your existing desk, you can keep all of your storage, however. Take note of the base of an attachment, because if it’s too large for your existing desk, you need to clear the clutter to make room.
