Standing workstations allow office workers to use a computer comfortably, while in a physically active position.
Commonly referred to as standing desks, or sit stand desks, they allow us to use repetitive strain to our advantage, correcting bad habits that sitting has caused.
Sitting in an office chair for long periods of time makes us dominant on the posterior (back) side of our lower body.
Our hamstrings and gluteus muscles are overused and they shorten over time. Conversely, this causes the anterior (front) side of our lower body to become overextended.
Our quadriceps lengthen and get weaker from sitting for extended periods of time.
Sitting causes both posterior and anterior leg muscles to get weaker and more deactivated. Posterior tissues shorten, while anterior tissues lengthen. This causes a lot of muscle imbalance and confusion in the legs, as well as increased risk of injury during sports and exercise.
Benefits Of Standing Desk
Using standing desks allow us to activate our quadriceps, while keeping our hip flexors in a neutral position.
When sitting, quadriceps are often overextended and hip flexors are compressed. When I first transitioned to standing, I would sit and stand throughout the day. Ideally, I would switch positions every 15 minutes. If I was being super productive, I would work in a sitting position a little longer. However, I would try not to work in any one position for more than 30 minutes at a time. After a few days, I could feel more activation in my quadriceps. I could feel the soft tissues around the front of my knee slowly shortening into a more natural state on the anterior side of my body.
For a deeper dive on my 15 minutes to 30 minutes time intervals, check out my article “How Often Should You Stand Up From Your Desk?“
What Are Standing Desks?
Standing desks come in different forms. My personal choice is one that is height adjustable. This way, we can sit and stand throughout the day. We don’t want to work in any one position for long periods of time, regardless if it’s sitting or standing. Some standing desks are electric. You can just push a button to raise it up or down. Other standing desks are mechanical. You would manually have to release some sort of lever in order to raise or lower the desk yourself.
Quick note: I’m not compensated by any companies that make desks or other ergonomic equipment. Any brand or product that appears in these photos is not paid promotion.
Is It Better To Sit Or Stand At Work?
In my experience, both are important. Because the position I work in isn’t the main factor of my computer pain. It’s how long I work in that position.
So, I switch between sit vs stand multiple times throughout my workday. This doesn’t just improve my posture. It also helps me improve productivity, mood and energy levels.
Since I’ve started standing at work, it’s decreased my risk of weight gain and type 2 diabetes.
I’ve also seen small platform desks that you can pick up and place on top of a normal desk.
This allows you to stand in an ergonomic position by lifting the height of your monitor, laptop, keyboard, and mouse. I’ve even seen a company that sells cardboard boxes that specifically turn a normal desk into a standing workstation. The boxes come in different heights. This way, you can get one to raise your keyboard and mouse to your elbow height. You would also need to get a taller box to place your monitor on so it is eye-level. Regardless of your sit and stand desk setup, there are 2 very important variables to making it ergonomic. Make sure the top of our monitor screen is close to eye-level. Also, make sure our keyboard and mouse are around elbow level.
For a deeper dive on height adjustable variables, check out my article “How High Should a Standing Desk Be?“
The average computer worker sits in an office chair 8 hours a day, 40 hours per week. Multiply 40 hours per week by 50 work weeks in the year. That puts the average time sitting in an office chair at 2,000 hours per year. This doesn’t include our commute driving to and from work. It also doesn’t include other types of sitting, like eating lunch and dinner at a table, or relaxing on the couch after work.
The staggering effects caused by sitting long periods of time
In a 2018 study titled, “The Short Term Musculoskeletal and Cognitive Effects of Prolonged Sitting During Office Computer Work,” it studies participants who undertook 2 hours of sitting computer work to find changes in discomfort and cognitive function, muscle fatigue, movement, and mental state. The study concludes that “discomfort increased in all body areas”, reaching clinically meaningful levels in the low back, hip, thigh, and buttocks areas. “The observed changes suggest prolonged sitting may have consequences for musculoskeletal discomfort and cognitive function and breaks to interrupt prolonged sitting are recommended.” *Citation references listed at the end of this article.
We’ve talked enough about the staggering effects caused by sitting long periods of time. The rest of this post is dedicated to the benefits of standing workstations. We don’t have to immediately go from sitting all day to standing all day. I started off slowly. I would sit and stand throughout the day. Eventually, these small changes in my posture gave me more ability to stand for longer periods of time, as well as other benefits.
Proper Standing Desk Posture
Stand in a neutral, balanced position.
After slouching (while sitting) for 9 years, I corrected my posture by standing at my desk for short periods. And naturally, I did what I always do when I correct things. I overdid it!
Now, I always maintain the natural curves of my spine. I practice this anytime I’m working at a computer for long periods of time, regardless if I’m sitting or standing.
I also make sure I don’t overextend my muscles and joints. Because repetitive strain doesn’t only compress and shorten muscles. It can also overextend and lengthen them. This leads to hyperextension of tendons located at joints, which leads to painful tendonitis.
Stand up straight, but not too straight.
When it comes to standing posture at a computer, too much of a good thing can be a very bad thing. When I first started standing, I overcorrected. I stood up “too straight.” My muscles lengthened. My joints were overextended. And the natural curves of my spine flattened out.
Standing up too straight caused just as much repetitive strain and overuse as slouching forward did. It was similar computer pain, just in different places.
Desk height is slightly lower than elbows.
This rule is the same for me, regardless if I’m sitting or standing at a computer. Some posture professionals say the elbow shoulder be even with the desk. This would put my elbow at a 90 degree angle. In my opinion, this should be a bare minimum requirement.
My personal preference is to have my desk height 2 to 3 inches below elbow height. It reduces constant muscle activation of my biceps. This will take pressure off the tendons that connect my biceps to bone in the shoulder area. This reduces the risk of shoulder pain caused by using a keyboard and mouse.
Top of the monitor screen is even with my eye level.
This rule is also the same for me, regardless if I’m sitting or standing at my computer.
Once I’m standing with a balanced posture, then I get my desk height correct, then I adjust my monitor height.
I adjust my monitor height until the top of the screen is even with my eye level. This helps me avoid looking down at my monitor, forward head posture, and neck pain.
Notice the below image. The user has his desk height just below his elbow height. He also has his monitor height correct. The top of his screen is even with his eye level.
Health Benefits Of Standing Workstations
Improves blood flow
One of the most important health benefits for me has been the increased blood flow throughout my legs. Tight leg muscles have been very challenging for me as I’ve reached my mid-40’s. This isn’t the kind of tight that can be stretched out easily. This is a chronic, stubborn overuse injury that takes a lot of time and energy to improve. Standing desks are a contributing factor that has helped me get there.
Increased muscle activation
Sitting with my hamstrings constantly engaged led to overuse and repetitive strain injuries for me. Standing, however, activates my leg muscles the correct way. It activates the muscles on the front of my legs, which had lengthened and weakened from being hamstring dominant caused by sitting for periods of time.
Decreases pain caused by sitting for long periods of time
Pain caused by sitting was the motivating force to create my website years ago. I’d had enough. There was no quick way to fix it. To quote Brian Mackenzie at ShiftAdapt.com, “there is no hack.” The goal is to find small habits that are 1% improvements. Over time, these small changes lead to large results when they are practiced consistently over time.
The majority of my habits have been focused on decreasing pain. Standing has allowed me to improve (back off on) my internal shoulder rotation. When I stand up straight, it prevents me from slouching forward to use the keyboard and mouse, which prevents internal shoulder rotation for me. Not slouching forward also prevents further spinal disc degeneration that I got from sitting. Finally, standing has improved my knee and ankle function, which took a beating from sitting in an office chair for years.
There is a side note I’d like to mention. Regardless of shoe type, standing for hours a day on a very hard floor can take too much of a toll on my body. One way to decrease the intensity of this is to use an anti fatigue mat.
Increased energy
Compared to sitting, it may seem like standing would consume more energy, rather than increase it. However, I’ve found after sitting long periods of time, I physically get more lethargic and sluggish. When I mix in working at standing height desks, my energy level is much better.
Other Benefits Of Standing Workstations
Boosts productivity
I could cite a bunch of studies showing how standing may burn more calories an hour, lower blood sugar, decrease risk of heart disease, and promote weight loss. However, I’m more into sharing my own personal, unique experience. This is mainly because I enjoy learning about other people’s experience and results. That said, my productivity levels are much better when I’m actively standing compared to sitting.
Improves mental clarity
We’re only allotted a certain amount of energy each day, both physical and mental. If we’re using half our energy focused on physical pain and how to fix it, that takes away from the percentage of our energy we have to think, be productive, and creative. Even though standing may require more physical energy than sitting, it decreases my pain level, which improves my mental clarity.
Improves mood
Nothing affects my mood more than pain and physical dysfunction. Sitting in an office chair was clearly a big variable of increased pain for me. It’s pretty safe to say that people work better mentally when they are in a good place physically. Since I’ve stopped using an office chair, it has improved my mood significantly.
Thanks for your interest in computer posture.
Todd Bowen – Computer Posture Correction and Pain-Free Ergonomics: For Office Workers Who Want to Fix Their Sitting Pain
P.S. If you liked this article, you’ll love the digital store I just published.
🙏 Thank you for supporting my work. -Todd
Citation:
*Baker R, Coenen P, Howie E, Williamson A, Straker L. The Short Term Musculoskeletal and Cognitive Effects of Prolonged Sitting During Office Computer Work. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018 Aug 7;15(8):1678. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15081678. PMID: 30087262; PMCID: PMC6122014.