First of all, will a standing desk improve my well-being at work?
YES, it will!
Working while standing has lots of benefits most of us aren’t even aware of.
It helps correct your posture while working by keeping your spine straight and helps strengthen your core, resulting in significantly reduced back pain.
Also, say goodbye to neck pain, with your computer screen eye level your head will be much better aligned with the rest of you!
Secondly, working standing up keeps you in an alert and awake position – which is excellent especially after lunch, you don't want to be in a sedentary position as your digestive system has to work twice as hard, which slows you down.
Lastly, standing up improves your blood circulation, oxygen levels and boosts metabolism. It will also help increase productivity since your brain will be receiving more oxygen and nutrient-rich blood flooding your thought organ with mood-boosting chemicals.
To fully enjoy the benefits of working standing up, you are advised to start by standing up an hour for every 2 hours you sit. As weeks go by you can increase the ratio throughout your day. But, please note that this doesn’t mean you have to force yourself. We all have different adaptation curves for habits and can take you longer or shorter to acquire the habit of working standing up. Take your time and enjoy aim for a smooth, comfortable transition to a healthier working experience!
Now, which standing desk is more suitable for you?
Standing desks by category
In this post, we explain the different standing desk categories.
Three types of standing desks:
1.MECHANICALLY ADJUSTABLE STANDING DESKS
You must adjust the height of the desk at the hips level and place the laptop on the platform. The main characteristic is that this type of standing desks needs to be adjusted manually every time.
The problem with this type of standing desk is that they rarely have a second shelf to place the screen or monitor forcing you to look down at the screen.
In most cases, you’ll have to acquire a laptop riser or a desktop stand to elevate the computer screen at eye level.
2.ELECTRICALLY ADJUSTABLE STANDING DESKS.
This type of standing desks work the same way as the mechanically adjustable ones but with the added value of just pressing a button to adjust the height – even some of them have memory button!
The price for this category ranges from 200GBP to up to 3,000GBP. Don’t forget to get one with an extra shelf for raising the screen or computer at your eye level.
2.ELECTRICALLY ADJUSTABLE STANDING DESKS.
This type of standing desks work the same way as the mechanically adjustable ones but with the added value of just pressing a button to adjust the height – even some of them have memory button!
The price for this category ranges from 200GBP to up to 3,000GBP. Don’t forget to get one with an extra shelf for raising the screen or computer at your eye level.
This category has many different models, materials and price ranges. In general, the converter standing desks will allow you to raise the computer screen to eye level and at the same time offer you a shelf or platform for your keyboard and mouse at elbow level.
This type of standing desks works as an add-on to your sitting desk. Also, they tend to be quite easy to fold down and adjust so you can alternate sitting and standing while working.
So, which standing desk to buy?
There is no right answer.
It will all depend on your needs, space and budget available. However, consider that the whole point of having a standing desk is to improve your posture; there are some categories of standing desks – mainly the mechanically and electrically adjustable ones – that even if they let you work standing up, sometimes depending on the model you choose, you’ll still have to bend down your head to look at the computer screen invalidating the whole point of acquiring a standing desk!
The only things that we suggest you MUST consider when buying a standing desk is:
- Make sure that your head is NOT bending down towards the computer screen. You need to keep your head up in a 90-degree angle from the screen.
- Always have the keyboard at elbow level too.