We've been talking about all the amazing benefits of an UpDesk standing desk for a while now. With a killer stand up desk like the SquaredUp or UpWrite you can find a better work-life balance by getting in fitness at work. You can up your happiness level with increased energy and decreased risk of over 34 chronic illnesses. Heck you can even throw a personal dance party anytime you'd like... All while limiting your time at that pesky desk chair that's been slowing you down for way too long. But did you also know that standing at your desk can actually help you burn more calories too? It's like laughing - just by doing something you already enjoy you'll see calories melt away at a much quicker rate than sitting.
In an article from BBC News researchers cited a lot of the same risks from sitting that we've already discussed here (like all that research talking about how sitting actually cancels out your workout) but it added some new facts to the mix and being the hard-hitting news journalists that we are (at least when it comes news about a height adjustable desk) we had to pass them along to you our trusty readers and fellow office desk revolutionaries. And this time we're talking calories.
According to the researching team at BBC and the University of Chester in the UK one of the reasons sitting is so damaging to our bodies has to do with how your body is able to process and breakdown fats and sugars. Although these are in fact essential elements of a healthy diet consuming them in excess coupled with a primarily sedentary lifestyle can be extremely dangerous. The researchers had a feeling that standing for even a portion of the workday might make a difference in the calorie burning and overall health of their test subjects - and it did.
After a week of standing for just three hours every day (that's when the PowerUp's touch-of-a-button height adjustment surely comes in handy) subjects found calories disappearing...and one woman even said that standing improved her symptoms of arthritis. Not only did blood glucose (sugar) levels return to normal levels much more quickly when standing but one researcher said that subjects also had a heart rate that was "on average around 10 beats per minute higher" and burned about 0.7 calories per minute. While that may not seem like a lot at first it's actually about 50 calories per hour. With that math just by standing for three hours everyday for five days a week you'll burn almost 750 calories a week and 30000 calories a year. Bottom line: you can lose around 8lbs. of fat every year just by standing for a small portion of your workday! The researchers in this study (and others) also mentioned that it would be like running 10 marathons every year... no big deal.
And the researchers also confirmed our recent reporting that not even a workout regimen can be as helpful in fighting sitting disease as the simple act of standing at your desk.
"Dr. Buckley [from the University of Chester] thinks that although going out and doing exercise offers many proven benefits our bodies also need the constant almost imperceptible increase in muscle activity that standing provides."
Isn't that handy? Who knew that something as simple as standing could reap so many immediate benefits and keep your calories in check? Not to brag but we kind of did. That's why we make high-quality and affordable height adjustable desks and that's why we sing their praises any chance we get. Because standing desks really will save your life... Literally.
If you want to calculate just how many calories you can burn while standing at work instead of sitting check out this nifty little calorie-burn calculator over at JustStand.org. Then head on over to UpDesk and order a desk that will change your waistline your energy and even your life. Get to standing you office trendsetter!
