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Standing Desks May Be A Health Hazard

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Standing desks may not necessarily be all that, a new study suggests. Contrary to claims, standing at a desk for too long is bad for the health and concentration, same with sitting for too long at a desk. Instead, a balanced mix of sitting and standing is the best way to go.

Researchers at Curtin University in Australia asked 20 volunteers to stand at a computer desk for two hours, Newsweek reports. The team monitored and documented the changes in physical discomfort and cognitive function the participants showed. Results indicated that all of the volunteers reported feeling physical discomfort in all parts of their bodies that grew more intolerable the longer they stood at their desks. This was manifested in lower limb swelling.

Additionally, the volunteers all reported experiencing an overall decrease in their mental conditions the more time they spent standing at the desks. On the bright side, there did appear to be an improvement in creative problem-solving skills among the participants.

Based on the results, the researchers concluded that people should take the hype surrounding standing desks with a grain of salt, and that workers should understand the health risks these desks may pose.

Alan Taylor, a physiotherapy expert at Nottingham University, said,

The bottom line is that this expansion [of standing desks] has been driven more by commercial reasons than scientific evidence. But the evidence is catching up and it’s showing there are some drawbacks.

Taylor was not involved in the study.

Scientific evidence has already proven that the opposite is true – sitting at a desk for too long can be bad for the health. For example, a study published last year found that prolonged sitting can increase the risks for heart problems.

However, the Australian study did employ only a small study sample, meaning more research is necessary to gain more insight into the subject. For now, alternating between sitting and standing, or going for walks in between, could be the better option, Taylor said.

The study was published in Ergonomics.

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