4 Good Reasons to Switch to a Standing Desk
Written by: Joseph Luo, PT, DPT
Since the pandemic, there’s been a growing interest in standing desks as the work from home movement seems like it’s here to stay. As more and more individuals start investing in a home office, the decision to choose a standing desk is now easier than ever with its obvious postural and long term health benefits. Before we get into what these benefits are, let’s answer some questions.
What is a standing desk?
Often online or in conversation, we use the term standing desk interchangeably with adjustable standing desk or even convertible standing desk. What we mean is a desk that adjusts to allow its user to both sit and stand in good posture.
Usually they have a C or T frame that can have either 2 or 3 stages of legs. A 2 stage system has legs composed of 2 cylinders that overlap as it lowers and extends to reach the full length as it raises. A 3 stage system has 3 cylinders and allows the desk to adjust lower and higher since the overall height of each cylinder is shorter.
Most standing desks come with a single motor. However, some do have 2 motors with the benefits being that the desk can support more weight and can transition more smoothly from sitting to standing.
What makes a standing desk ergonomic?
A desk that can achieve the proper height to allow for a 90 deg elbow bend and good posture for an individual in both sitting and standing would be considered ergonomic by our standards. This means that for someone who is around 5 feet tall, a desk that ranges from 27” to 45” may be necessary to allow for both sitting and standing. For someone who is 6 feet tall, a desk that ranges from 29” to 48” may be considered ergonomic.
Some other features of a desk, such as the shape of the desktop, amount of tilt, and overall stability, can also contribute to how ergonomic it is. Just keep in mind that the desk is just one component of a truly ergonomic workspace, which comes with many benefits.
Benefits of using a standing desk
We’ve all heard that sitting is the new smoking, and doing so for long periods of time can lead to many health complications such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even cancer. For most of us, however, these health problems loom in the distant future which may not motivate us to switch to a standing desk today. So, here are 4 tangible benefits you can experience pretty quickly when you switch to an adjustable standing desk.
1. Back Pain Relief
Now, there are many ways that a standing desk can decrease your back pain but here’s a simple one: open thigh-torso angle. This means that you have a large angle between your torso and your thigh.
When you sit, your thigh-torso angle is closed at about 90 degrees which leads to a tightening of your hip flexors which are your quadriceps and psoas muscles as well as a lengthening of your gluteus muscles.
These different muscle imbalances produces a condition called lower crossed syndrome where your resting pelvic position is rotated forward. The primary symptom of this type of position is low back pain.
Whether it be from a nerve being pinched that can shoot pain down one leg or muscles spasms in the lower back that feel like they never relax, spending more time in an open thigh-torso angle can relieve these issues.
Standing can rebalance your pelvic pulley system and reset your resting pelvic position to neutral, alleviating the negative effects of sitting and a closed thigh-torso angle.
2. Comfort
As someone who needs to fidget and change positions often, I find that a stationary desk can prevent me from being comfortable in many positions.
I like to sit leaning one way or the other, using my back rest, not using my back rest, flipping my chair 180 and leaning my stomach on my back rest, one leg crossed over the other, cross-legged, you name it, and I do it. With each of these positions, I adjust my desk a couple inches up or down to keep my screen and keyboard in a position that’s most comfortable for me.
Even if you are someone who does like to sit in one position all day, it’s important for you to give certain body parts a break by adjusting the desk down for your shoulders or up for your neck, just a few inches.
3. Look more attractive
Think about some of the most attractive people you know. Whether it's someone from your personal life or different celebrities, are you picturing them standing with shoulders rounded and back slouched? Likely not. Good posture is one of the most attractive things that anyone could have, especially as we get older and it becomes more and more scarce.
Sitting all day forces your neck and shoulders forward, your upper back to round, and your hips to stiffen up. Try walking with these poor body mechanics and you get the opposite of gracefulness. It’s the same for anyone, no matter the gender.
Now, does standing automatically mean that you are going to have good posture? Absolutely not. But, it gives you the opportunity to have good posture whereas sitting all day solidifies your posture into the “path of least resistance.” Just imagine gravity crushing a person sitting in their computer chair and that’s where your posture will end up.
4. More energy
Unless you’re a boomer who’s been brainwashed that your coworkers are your family, we all know that real life starts after clocking out. Unfortunately, so many of us end up feeling too lethargic and worn out to hang out with friends or go do something fun after a day’s work.
Part of that comes from sitting all day, which contributes to poor circulation, shallow breathing, and overall stiffness. Standing activates muscles in your calves to pump that blood back up to your heart, opens up your abdominal area so your lungs can actually expand, and activates all of your postural muscles so you burn more calories.
So, instead depleting your energy while you sit on your bum all day, turn your work day into a warm up for your post-work fun by standing with your standing desk.
What to look for when buying a standing desk
Choosing a desktop
The desktop can come in a variety of materials, colors, and sizes. Start with the size as you decide what you need on the desk and how it would fit into your office. You can also decide whether you want to have a corner, L-shaped desk or a traditional rectangular desk. There are also contoured desks to allow you to scoot in closer to your desk and add some nonlinear spice to your office.
Then there's the material used to create the desktop. The standard is a laminate material created from recycled wood made into layers of paper. For a more detailed look into the production process, check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRtk8-TMN2E
You can also go with hardwood, glass, whiteboard material, and pretty much anything that you can find to attach to the motorized legs for your standing desk.
Choosing the legs
As stated previously, you can choose either a T frame or C frame. The T frame centers the legs on the feet giving you a more symmetrical look. You really can’t go wrong with either choice, but if you have a crossbar for your feet, it’s probably better to go with the C frame so you don’t bang your legs on it while sitting.
The C frame places the vertical legs off-center towards the rear allowing for more weight support near the back of your desk. I have the Uplift V2 C frame and there is pretty much no wobble. It’s as sturdy as any T frame desk.
2 stage vs 3 stage legs
Your required height adjustability will determine whether choosing 2 or 3 stage legs is better. For most people, a minimum 27 in 2-stage desk is good enough and will suit you fine. For people on the outskirts of the height range, meaning below 5'3" or above 6'3", then a 3-stage may allow your desk to adjust to your height better.
Dual motor vs. single motor
The major difference here is price point. A dual motor usually runs a couple of hundred dollars more than a single motor and the benefit is really weight limit. So, unless you have some incredibly heavy monitors or perhaps a desktop fountain, a single motor should be plenty. To be completely honest, I have a dual motor, but it kind of feels like driving a pickup truck even though I don’t have anything to put in the trunk bed.
Where to buy a standing desk?
If you’re looking to purchase an ergonomic standing desk, browsing through Amazon may take hours. This is especially true if you're looking for specific height and price ranges. So, we’ve perused the internet for other suppliers that make ergonomic standing desks that meet our standards.
Best Quality Frame: Uplift Desk
This company makes the best motors for standing desks at a reasonable price. At around $700, you can get a great quality standing desk that is very sturdy and can hold up to 350 lbs. They can achieve such specs by using a dual motor, 3-stage leg system. But, our favorite thing about this desk is that it can go as low as 22.6 in for their V2-Commercial Frame and as high as 50.9 in for their V2 frame. The shopping process allows you to customize everything from the desktop material to cable management to a below desk hammock that comes free when there’s a deal. However, the amount of customization also means that the shopping process is long and a bit clunky. If you’re looking for your forever standing desk though, Uplift may be the place to look.
*P.S. Uplift does sell its desks through Amazon but with less customization. If you'd prefer the shipping convenience of Amazon, then you can look at some of their options here.
Herman Miller Jarvis
Herman Miller sells some good desks. Specifically, the Jarvis standing desk. These desks go as low as 26 in and can go as high as 52 in, and they even have a low version that goes down to 24 in. The prices are comparable to Uplift. The main differences are that 1) they offer one desktop option with a contoured shape that curves into the desk, and 2) they only have C-frame legs rather than a choice between C or T-frames.
Budget desks with minimum 27” height: Wayfair
This site carries a variety of different supplier’s standing desks similar to Amazon. There are many options to choose from with a minimum height of 27 in which can be considered ergonomic for the majority of people. However, if you’re looking to go lower than that, it would be like finding a needle in a haystack. The benefit of these desks is that the prices are hard to beat. If you’re not too picky about weight limit or loudness, then Wayfair is a great place to look.
