Standing While Working - How It Can Benefit You

They say sitting is the new smoking and there is no one better than myself to attest to it. Having been at a sitting job for years it started taking a toll on my health a few years ago. Whether it was weight gain and the conditions associated with it, or my back problem where I used to feel chronic pain when I was moving, sitting or lying down, I had the worst of it.

I came across an article in a magazine at the time that advised sedentary workers, like me, to try standing and working. I was intrigued and decided to try it out. Although it was difficult in the beginning I experienced great relief with my back pain and also noticed that I was more agile and energetic.

I did not need to purchase a standing desk since I have an ingenuous arrangement by which I can raise the surface of the desk. I use a very light, portable table whose height can be adjusted and which I place on top of my work desk. It suits me although a standing desk with an adjustable height could be better - frankly I never tried it out.

Here are some of the main advantages of standing while working, as I have experience with my own practical experience.

Helps in Regulating Weight

A typical sedentary worker will always gain weight unless he has a strict exercise regimen along with diet control. Here is where most people do not even realize that they could be gaining weight for most of their active life, by sitting at their work desk. By standing they are consuming more calories than while sitting but the second advantage has a more profound effect.

When you stand at your desk you will be more agile and be able to move around when you want to. It may be something that you need to fetch or just walking around your office or home. You tend to do it more when you are standing. A sitting person will always tend to take a work break continuing to sit but a standing worker will always prefer to more around.

Posture

You tend to develop a poor posture when you sit and work, especially working on your computer all day. You will always be slouching or bending over and this will hurt you back in the long run. I learnt from experience but I can tell you this - back pain does not go away easily. Serious cases may even require surgical treatment.

Sleep

This is one thing I realized later after standing while working for a few weeks. I suddenly relized that I was sleeping much better than before and hence felt fresher and more energetic during the day. It must be due to the movement while standing or more calories burnt, but I was pleasantly surprised by this change in my life.

Suggestions

I do have a couple of suggestions for anyone who wants to stop being a sedentary sitting worker and start standing while working. Firstly, start slowly and also make sure that you have some type of padding under your feet, like a gel mat or a yoga mat. This will reduce the sudden strain on your feet. The other thing is that you don't have to stand all the time. You can alternate between sitting and standing, especially if you can adjust your work desk. If you can't, the you can take your laptop and move to another desk or even pull up a chair for a few minutes.

(¯`•._ _.•´¯)

Would you please UPVOTE and RESTEEM this post so that it can reach others too? Also do FOLLOW me for more useful and interesting posts.