Years ago I read an article with this title in Runners' World, and the next day I wrote to the then CEO of Willis Towers Watson to suggest that we got adjustable standing desks put into our UK offices. I had to wait 2 years but finally a number of adjustable desks were installed.
In Denmark it is the law that every employee must have the option to stand so these desks are compulsory - but how bad is sitting for you?
As a strength coach I quite often come across new clients who have weak glute muscles and tight hip flexors. When glutes are weak they can’t function properly and various levels of hip and lower back pain may be felt. So that’s not great news for a start.
A recent study examined the benefits from standing at desks for 3 hours a day. Firstly standing raised heart rates by a tiny amount – which, when averaged over the days, weeks and months leads to the equivalent number of calories burned as if participants had run about 10 marathons in the year. More relevant to the health claims made for standing up, though, were the results of the blood glucose monitors used in the study. These were constantly monitoring the office workers’ blood sugar levels throughout the day. When we eat, our blood sugar goes up. However, if it remains high it can damage the linings of our blood vessels and increase our risks of heart disease and type 2 diabetes, so our bodies need to clear the sugar as quickly as possible.
The monitors showed that when the office workers were standing up, they cleared the sugar from their blood much more quickly than when they were sitting down – a pattern seen in those with more active lifestyles. This is a very significant finding. Just the very gentle exercise our body gets from standing up helps us get rid of high blood sugar after lunch.
So the message to all of us is simple, and quite achievable – just try doing a little more standing up in your day – whilst at work, on your commute, whilst having lunch or whilst watching TV. It could make a significant difference to your health.
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