Want to know why standing desks are awesome? Check out Shannon Wurthman's quote from a recent Washington Post article about the dangers of sitting: "If your butt's not in your seat you're probably not doing your job." If you're like most of us here at UpDesk you do 95% of your work from a computer desk. And because of newfangled things like "computers" "pocket calculators" and "the internet" it's pretty hard to get any work done when you're not at that desk. We all know that and our bosses know it too. So we tend to sit because we don't feel like we're getting anything done otherwise.
But that has all changed thanks to another newfangled thing the "UpDesk standing desk." In our minds it's just as groundbreaking as the computer or the pocket calculator. Because now you can work AND stand at your desk! Sure we understand that we're not actually telling you anything you don't know. But we thought Shannon really nailed it with her quote in the Washington Post so here are several other nuggets from the article that we thought were pretty cool.
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We've said this before but the article reaffirmed that standing for between two and four hours a day is an ideal ratio.
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Standing at your desk is crucial. And you can get additional time on your feet by taking your phone calls while standing having standing meetings or even something simple like walking over to a colleague's desk instead of emailing them. (Crazy we know...)
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Gavin Bradley a health expert quoted in the article told everyone two things that we've been saying for years: Use a comfort mat and use something like the UpDesk app to remind you when to sit and when to stand.
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Your metabolism slows down by up to 90% after you sit down at your office desk for half an hour. Enzymes that help get rid of "bad fat" slow down. And after a couple hours of sitting your good cholesterol takes a big hit.
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Don't forget that most of us are sedentary at home too. Most of us aren't lucky enough to have a standing desk that functions as a coffee table in our home. So all that time we spend on the couch makes it that much more important to stand and be active at work.
Take it from us: Standing desks are awesome. And if you don't take it from us take it from the Washington Post.