Could your standing desk pose health risks? A new study says you can go too far – National

The phrase ‘sitting is the new smoking’ has warned office workers against sedentary behavior in recent years, but a new study suggests some may be going too far in the other direction.

Standing desks have risen in popularity thanks to the global market valued of $7.75 billion, but new research warns against putting too much faith in it.

The study, led by the University of Sydney and published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, studied 83,013 adults in the United Kingdom to assess the daily time spent sitting and standing. The study found that standing for more than two hours a day can cause problems such as varicose veins, but does little to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease from sitting for long periods of time.

Patricia Doyle-Baker, from the faculty of kinesiology at the University of Calgary, said: “Anyone who stands in a very still position for a long time is going to have some problems related to the musculoskeletal system, otherwise they will have blood in their legs and in their feet.”

However, Doyle-Baker said the research does not show that standing desks are inherently bad for health, but that holding any position for long periods of time can be bad, whether sitting or standing.

Scott Lear, professor of health sciences at Simon Fraser University, said: “It’s not just sitting. It is the sedentary behavior that is problematic: not exercising.”

He said: ‘It’s a different position than sitting. But as this study shows, it also carries its own risks for heart disease and other issues like varicose veins.”

Doyle-Baker said, “This article doesn’t necessarily say you shouldn’t stand at your desk, but think about the length of time you spend standing at your desk.”

Lear said standing users should be wary of blood pooling in their feet or legs.

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“If it cools and doesn’t move, some of the blood cells can split together and form these little clots,” he said. “What happens when the blood moves up from our feet and lower legs? It goes to our heart, passes through the inner chambers of the heart and then goes to our lungs. And so that little clot continues happily until it ends up in a blood vessel that is too narrow.”

This, he said, can cause a pulmonary embolism in some people.

So should you throw away your standing desk? Not quite. Sitting for long periods of time is still pretty bad for you.

“Sitting for long, continuous periods can increase your chances of diabetes, heart disease, some cancers and a host of other diseases,” Lear said.

So if sitting and standing can both cause health problems, what solution is there for the health-conscious office worker? The answer, according to some experts, may lie in height-adjustable sit-stand desks.

A 2020 article published by the University of Waterloo’s Center of Research Expertise for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders (CRE-MSD) states that sit-stand workstations can help alleviate pain problems for some users. People who suffer from conditions such as herniated discs in their spine can benefit from sit-stand desks.

“Sit-stand workstations may be effective for some people in relieving musculoskeletal discomfort, particularly lower back pain,” the paper said.

The article recommends that office users use a 1:1 ratio, which means that in an eight-hour workday you should ideally sit for four hours and stand for four hours. But it depends on how you divide your time.

Jack Callaghan, one of the co-authors of the paper from the University of Waterloo, said: “Our gold standard, if humans can do it, is that you shouldn’t sit for more than 30 minutes without doing anything else. And you should never stand for more than 15 minutes straight.”

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The pros and cons of standing desks in the workplace

Doyle-Baker said some people might benefit from something called the “20-eight-two rule.”

“You sit for 20 minutes, you stand for eight minutes and you move for two minutes,” she said.

If you don’t have a standing desk or an adjustable-height standing desk but don’t want to spend the money, Lear said there are things you could do in your day to ensure that your body is moving every 20 to 30 minutes. movement is .

“If you’re working from home, that could be going upstairs, doing laundry or just walking around,” he said.

If you’re in the office, little things like taking regular breaks from the coffee maker or water cooler can help.

“I like to encourage people to set the alarm on their phone or something and it will go off after half an hour. You can have watches that buzz if you don’t move,” he said. “Our joints love movement and our joints are lubricated when they move.”

Callaghan said the most sedentary hours often occur not during work, but after work.

“(Sometimes) it’s not what you do at work. It’s what you do outside of work, whether you spend an hour in the car or four hours on the couch,” he said.

Callaghan recommended, if possible, occasionally ditching your car for active transportation, such as public transit or cycling.

For your home office, a sit-stand desk could be a good idea, according to Doyle-Baker.

“I think everyone can benefit from a sit-stand situation,” she says. “I think standing desks are here to stay.”

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