Work Positions: Sit/Stand Desk

The negative health effects of constant sitting are now well-established, and we freelance publishing folks have a lot of computer time in our days. And given the findings from some NASA studies that the effects of gravity and lower body movement are important in counteracting the effects of sitting disease, standing desks have become popular.  Realistically, we don’t want to stand for the entire work day, so what is needed is an adjustable height desk. The way to avoid sitting disease is to get more movement in our workday while we are working.

We need to replicate conditions that are more active (i.e. field work without the heavy lifting). The more we can vary our position during work hours the better. The upright seated position is not one that encourages movement—it’s very stable.  One of the ways to add movement is to vary the height of the desk periodically as this brings lower extremity activity along with its benefits of additional movement.

The adjustable desk must work for both sitting and standing. It should be easy to adjust. If it’s too much of a chore to adjust you are not going to use it. Just like any exercise equipment, it’s only beneficial if you do use it.

In either sitting or standing you should be able to maintain the neutral position of head, neck, torso, as well as hands and arms.  You should go to the OSHA checklist for good working positions and check those parameters in both positions. Your “standing desk” may be less than optimal for seated work. Check the level of the keyboard and mouse, the position of the monitor, and be sure that you can maintain good seated posture.

The standing desk sounds like a great idea—just like mouse use instead of the keyboard—but remember that too long in any position is not good. Too much standing and you will have foot, leg, and back discomfort. Position change and movement is very important to good health.

Recommendations for how long to stand are quite variable—there must be a balance between interruption of work and position change. Work from the University of Waterloo Department of Kinesiology suggests that maximum benefit from standing without developing problems is a sit-stand ratio between 1:1 and 1:3.  You are not likely to be able to go from traditional seated working immediately to a 1:3 ratio. Listen to what your body is telling you—change position when it feels right.

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Editor’s note: This article is part of a series on occupational challenges for freelance folks who sit in front of computers most of the day. Look for more on the details of making your workplace human-body friendly from our resident indexer and DO, S. Anne Fifer.