Video: Sitting vs. Standing at Work

[bitsontherun Sr7UaKCJ]

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – You may think that standing on your feet all day is harder on your body than sitting but researchers at Mississippi State say think again.

You may be sitting at your desk eight hours a day, five days a week but health experts say that too much sitting is not only bad for your posture but can even be bad for your heart.

MSU Ergonomist Kari Babski-Reeves agrees.

“You don’t do a whole lot of movement so that your metabolism slows down. So that means that your not burning calories like you would if you were standing up and moving around. Which can lead, over time, to heart conditions or other cardiovascular conditions which then can lead to death or other morbidity type of issues,” says Babski-Reeves.

Receptionist Shawn Hannah knows first hand sitting for hours can be affect the body.

“Sitting for an extended period of time can be very stressful on your body because it weighs heavily on your back, your legs and can make your legs fatigued  and sometimes causes swelling,” says Hannah.

MSU researchers say those who sit at work can reverse some of the negative consequences by making a few changes in their daily routine.

“For about every 20 minutes of being seated, you need to get up for about 10-15 seconds. We’re not talking about getting up and moving around lots. It’s just getting up and getting your body moving and getting your blood flowing.

Studies have also shown that standing while working also increases your energy and can improve your focus.

Babski-Reeves also recommends wearing comfortable shoes while standing.

FROM MSU PUBLIC AFFAIRS

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Attention, people who sit eight hours a day, five days a week at a desk job: There is another way.

For those who’d rather not sit for at least part of the workday, a standing desk workstation may be a good — and healthier — alternative.

Enough people must think so, since this stand-up alternative has become a sensation that is sweeping the nation, according to reports from NBC News, the New York Times and Men’s Fitness magazine, among other major media organizations.

Mississippi State University faculty members and researchers agreed that standing to work can reverse the negative impacts of sitting constantly. Inactivity studies have demonstrated that sitting at work all day every day increases the risks of death and heart problems, even with regular exercise regimens outside the office.

“When we work at a standing desk, what we’re doing is actually promoting the natural S curve in the back, particularly at the lower region,” said assistant professor Kari Babski-Reeves, an industrial ergonomics and work physiology specialist at the university. “All of your weight is distributed at your feet instead of the back of your legs and your bum, so you have better blood flow.”

Lesley Strawderman, an ergonomics authority in consumer product design, agreed. People who stand at work will be less fatigued and better focused on their work, the assistant professor said.

“Don’t be afraid to move. You’ll be keeping your muscles active and avoiding those static types of postures,” Strawderman said. “About every 30 minutes, you need to change posture — at standing workstations, have a stool to lean back on or a foot rail. Adjust how your body’s handling the pressure.”

To be comfortable, a standing workstation needs to complement the physiology of the person using it, the researchers said.

“Use a good gel- or standing-support mat. This will help to relieve some of the stress on the lower back when standing on a hard surface,” Babski-Reeves said. “Make sure to wear good support shoes: for example, running or other type of flat-soled shoes with arch and ankle support.”

Women should wear flat-soled shoes when working, she recommended.

“They can wear their heels to meetings or other events, but they should not spend significant amounts of time, say 20 minutes or more, working in standing positions with heels higher than 1 inch,” Babski-Reeeves said.

Heights of the computer monitor and keyboard also are important factors to consider, Strawderman said.

“The optimal height would be a little bit below your elbow height,” she said. “A neutral posture a little below the elbow helps prevent shoulder injuries. The monitor should be just below your eyeball level to prevent neck fatigue and eye strain.”

Babski-Reeves and Strawderman said movement — whether standing or sitting — is critical to physical comfort, and standing can certainly enhance productivity.

“There’s nothing you can’t do on a standing one that you can do on the sitting one,” Babski-Reeves said. “All the same rules apply; all you’re doing is changing your body position.”

Jason Tiffin, senior web developer and team leader for MSU’s Enterprise Information Systems, has had a standing desk since early 2012.

“I’m active, I move around a lot and I can’t stand sitting down for long periods of time,” he said. “That first month after I got the standing desk, I would find myself saying, ‘Sit down,’ not because I was tired but because that was what I was used to for 15 years. I would get to my desk and sit down.

“No matter what your exercise routine or diet, if you sit 8 hours, you’re 18 percent more likely to have a heart attack,” Tiffin said.

Designer Dale Moore, senior team leader at the university’s Design Research & Informatics Lab, said he is creating his own standing workstation with his brother Blake, of Columbus. While Moore doesn’t plan to bring it to campus, he thinks using it at home will provide relief from lower back and shoulder aches.

“I am a follower of the website Lifehacker, where they feature people’s workstations a lot, and they seemed to have an obsession with standing desks and their health and productivity benefits,” Moore said. “Always looking for ways to increase my productivity, and now looking at ways to help improve my posture and health, I decided to try to make one since buying one is out of my price range.”

In addition to helping improve his posture, Moore said he expects the homemade stand-up workstation to make him more productive.

“It also will be easier to take the necessary occasional breaks and walk away to allow eye rest to decrease strain, wrist rest to decrease chances of carpal tunnel and breaks necessary to come back to look at my design work with fresh eyes to more easily notice mistakes,” Moore said.

Moore, Tiffin, Strawderman and Babski-Reeves emphasized people — colleagues, family and friends — should keep an open mind when considering a change to standing for part of the workday.

“Having the option to sit or stand while still being able to do your work can only be a benefit,” Moore said. “Even if it ends up not working out, and you prefer to just sit, you can choose to do so.

“Basically, there are no downsides to giving it a shot.”

Categories: Local News

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *