College Student Slump: How Standing Desks Can Boost Health And Productivity

Ever wish you could write as well as Maya Angelou or Virginia Woolf? Do you want to be as productive as Abraham Lincoln or have inventive ideas like Steve Jobs? All of these people have one thing in common: they worked at standing desks, a factor that surely influenced their development as such important thinkers. As a student, you could certainly use some of their mental force.

In recent years we’ve learned something else about standing desks as well – in our increasingly sedentary society, they help to improve health. If you’re feeling that sleepy college slump, now may be the time to put a standing desk in your dorm or office.

One of the primary ways that standing desks can help improve user health is by reducing obesity rates. Standing allows you to engage more of the natural movements that you perform throughout the day. They make it more likely that you’ll pace around a bit, shift your weight from foot to foot, and even walk to ask someone a question rather than simply send off an email.

These little movements are often enough to keep the weight off, while those who spend their time sitting add on the pounds. Even when standing still, standing desks allow the user to burn 60 more calories an hour, which may not sound like much, but adds up quickly when you’re writing a term paper or sitting in an office.

You don’t even have to stand the whole day to benefit from a standing desk. In fact, standing too much can cause back problems and varicose veins. However, this is the beauty of standing desks – they are designed to shift between different positions, allowing you to sit some of the time and stand the rest. Out of every hour you should be standing for about 20 minutes. You can sit for the rest, though it’s even better to walk for four or five additional minutes, engaging your muscles differently.

Being able to move and change positions while working may also be beneficial because it can keep you from becoming bored with an activity, particularly if you have a ADHD or other difficulties focusing. And in a small dorm room or apartment, standing desks save space and offer opportunities for movement that might otherwise be restricted. You aren’t likely to pace around your cluttered dorm room, but you might move around more if you’re already standing.

With so many health benefits it seems likely that standing desks aren’t just a fad, but are truly here to stay. Now is the time to try one out and see how they work for you. It can be just what you need to get those creative juices flowing while also burning excess calories. You might even burn off the freshman fifteen from a few years ago.