Increasingly popular, “sit-stand” or “modular” desks have seen their sales explode in recent years. The development of teleworking with the 2020 lockdown has even brought this object into our homes, to the point that thousands of people use it every day.
On paper, these offices must fight against a sedentary lifestyle. The frequent change of position, between sitting and standing, allowing you to maintain a minimum of physical exercise. Some people even use treadmills that they slide under their desk to stay as active as possible while working.
A false good idea?
If numerous scientific studies have proven the benefits of these position changes, both for physical health and for concentration abilities, new research, carried out by Australian scientists, tends to limit the powers of these offices.
Indeed, in their study, the researchers realized that of the 83,000 people surveyed, standing, if kept for too long, actually did more harm than good. In particular, it can aggravate blood circulation problems. So standing can lead to the appearance of varicose veins or even dizziness and headaches.
However, sitting is not recommended.
However, and this study makes it clear, it is not recommended to sit all day without doing anything. This can lead to obesity, heart problems or increases the risk of stroke.
Ultimately, and as in many cases, the right solution is somewhere in between. You should definitely not sit still, this would be very bad for our body, but working only standing up (and in a static position) is not really any better.
Work-study, the best solution?
Scientists therefore recommend alternating positions. For this it is possible to use several methods, including the famous “pomodoro technique” which is already very popular. You will also be able to work for a certain time, before getting up, taking a few steps and resuming your work after a few minutes.
This solution, although still not perfect, makes it possible to limit the risks as much as possible. It is also very important to remember that in addition to our vascular health, at stake during long static work sessions, our eyes are also the first affected by sedentary work.
The continued presence of screens in our lives is not a gift for them and we must, as much as possible, try to change the environment (by looking into the distance for a few minutes for example). The next time you're grabbing coffee and pacing around, staring into space, all you have to do is tell your boss that you're just taking care of your body.
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