Did you know that an average person spends almost 80% of their day in a sedentary state? Let’s look at a typical day of an office worker. They wake up, brush their teeth and get ready for work. They get in their car and head over to the office where they sit for most of the day, followed by — once again, driving home in the sitting position. Once at home, they sit down to eat dinner and relax on the couch to catch up on their favorite Netflix series. Afterwards, they go back to sleep and the vicious circle repeats. Even if they manage to get a workout in somewhere in between, a large majority of their day is, inevitably — spent sitting down.
So, what’s the issue with all of this? Well, in recent years more and more scientific data suggests that, in the long term, sitting could cause serious detrimental impact to one’s health and well being. In fact, as Dr. Levine referred to it in one of his studies (1), “Sitting is the new smoking”. Just by taking a high level glance at the medical research data, it becomes apparent that those two smoking and sitting share a lot in common when it comes to increasing the risk of cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
What is behind these adverse effects? As we explore further, the root cause points to the sedentary lifestyle. What can we do to counter them? The quick answer — become more active. Anything we can do to add more activity to our lives will tip the scales in our favor. This is where the standing desk comes in. A standing desk allows your body to stay more active throughout the day while staying energized and more productive. Over time, this small change can amount to a plethora of health benefits including weight loss, lower blood sugar, lowered risk of heart disease, reduced back pain, improved mood and finally — extended lifespan.
A recent study (2) has been conducted in the University of Chester where 10 office workers were asked to stand for a minimum of three hours each day for one week. They were asked to wear an accelerometer to record their physical activity, a heart rate monitor and glucose monitors to keep track of their blood sugar levels. The researchers found the results to be quite staggering. They noticed that following a meal, the blood glucose levels have normalized much faster during the periods when the participants were standing. Another interesting discovery has been made when comparing heart rates. While standing, the participants’ heart rate was on average 10 beats per minute higher, which translates to about 50 calories per hour. Over a year span, that would add up to about 30,000 calories and over 8 lbs of fat. "If you want to put that into activity levels," says Dr Buckley, "then that would be the equivalent of running about 10 marathons a year. Just by standing up three or four hours in your day at work."
Standing can help control your blood sugar
A similar study (3) has confirmed that standing for 3 hours after lunch reduced the blood sugar spike by 43% compared to sitting for the same amount of time. Optimal insulin sensitivity is important for body composition goals as well as for reducing the risk of developing serious illnesses such as type 2 diabetes. Prolonged sitting has also been linked to a reduction in the activity of the lipase enzyme which is responsible for breaking down blood fats to be used as fuel for muscle. This in turn leads to raised levels of triglycerides and fats in the blood, increasing the risk of heart disease.
In the 1950s, researchers examined bus drivers who typically sit at work and bus conductors who are usually standing up. The study concluded with quite alarming results, which showed the bus conductors were on average half as likely to develop heart disease in comparison to their coworkers at the wheel.
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