I’m a standing desk evangelist. Ask anybody in my life who’s a desk employee they usually’ll inform you that I’ve badgered them about switching. Whether it’s expensive or affordable, it doesn’t matter—simply get one!
But I wasn’t at all times like this. When I first tried standing desks over a decade in the past, I didn’t approve. My feet ached, my setup was suboptimal, I didn’t really feel the advantages, and it was a hell of much more work than simply placing my toes up whereas I tapped away at my PC.
But now? I’d by no means return. Here are the highest the reason why I went from standing desk skeptic to standing desk convert.
It helps my again ache and posture
This is the unique and nonetheless greatest cause I’ve for utilizing a standing desk. In the previous, I wrote about my favorite desk accessories for back pain and posture issues. After years of poor posture, an excessive amount of smartphone use, and a sedentary mixture of desk work and PC gaming, I discovered myself with recurring pinched nerves and distracting again ache.
Switching to a standing desk was step one to reversing that harmful debilitating pattern, and although it nonetheless isn’t excellent at the moment, it’s a lot better than it was. I attribute that to my standing desk.
Today, I spend most of my days standing, not sitting. I stand to work, I stand to sport, and although I’ve just a few seated periods all through the day to relaxation, it’s just for a short time—after which I’m again up once more. Standing retains me extra upright. Plus, I can higher management my desk setting in order that my monitor is on the proper top and my wrists are held at a impartial angle whereas typing.
It retains me transferring, too. I don’t simply sit nonetheless, slowly caving ahead as I develop drained. I’m in a position to dance, to tempo, to rock from foot to foot, and even do some flamingo legging. All of this helps forestall me from getting caught in a single dangerous place that slowly cements into my default.
Back ache will at all times be one thing I’ve to cope with because of the nature of my work and selection of hobbies, however with a standing desk I’ve a a lot better probability of staving off the worst of it.
It encourages me to maneuver round extra
With a standing desk, I’m not simply passively burning extra energy than I’d if I had been sitting down—I’m free to maneuver round as a lot as I would like, every time I would like, not confined to a chair. I take full benefit of that.
I’m a compulsive desk fidgeter, so once I’m standing I can extra readily faucet my toes, bounce from foot to foot, dance if the suitable tunes are taking part in, steadiness at humorous angles on my foot rocker, and do full-blown workout routines. When I’m proof studying, I’ll usually do a small weighted train with some tiny dumbbells, or decrease the standing desk so the monitor stays in my eyeline as I do some squats or lunges.
Everything I’ve learn means that common motion is likely one of the greatest methods to thwart the circulation points that may come up from sedentary workplace jobs, so I’m going to maintain standing and maintain transferring as greatest as I can. Far greater than I may do if seated all day.
It retains my PC at a distance
When I constructed my first PC at 15, I needed the most important, baddest, quickest, and gaudiest system potential. I fitted a Thermaltake Armor with an early AMD Athlon 64+ CPU, a DFI LanParty motherboard, and one of the best GPU I may afford: an Nvidia GTX 6600. I additionally fitted it with an enormous cooler with heaps of followers and a few gaudy blue LEDs. I had that monster on my desk proper by my face for years and in some way by no means observed how loud it was.
Today, that looks as if absolutely the worst thought potential. Thank goodness for getting older gracefully. My concepts of what constitutes a fantastic PC have, too. While I nonetheless have highly effective {hardware} in my fundamental workplace/gaming machine, I’m additionally extra cognizant of its noise ranges. I don’t wish to hear from it until there’s an issue. The PC is in a swanky Fractal Design North case, but I don’t even actually wish to take a look at it. Just let me work and sport and don’t trigger any issues, thanks very a lot.
Jon Martindale / Foundry
And that’s one thing else the standing desk helps with. Short of placing my PC in one other room, it’s about as removed from me as I can handle in my humble dwelling workplace. It’s underneath the desk, tucked in a nook, and I don’t see it (and even keep in mind it exists) whereas I’m standing.
This additional distance helps scale back PC noise ranges. I’m an enormous fan of quiet and silent PCs, so I’ve all of the followers and pump turned low… and when idling or writing, it’s principally inaudible. *Chef’s kiss*
It let me sport once I had a child
This win for standing desks is not related for me, however it’s a win I’ll at all times rejoice as a result of it let me have some me time whereas navigating dadhood for the second time with a troubled sleeper.
I gained’t bore you with the small print, however my daughter didn’t sleep properly till she was 4 years outdated. Between the ages of 6 months to 18 months, I rocked her to sleep within the provider each evening so my poor spouse may get a break from breastfeeding. Fortunately, it ended up letting me get a while for me, and even for us.
Jon Martindale / Foundry
Already a practiced standing gamer, it meant I may get pleasure from my new love on the time (Valheim, not my daughter) for hours whereas she fortunately slept towards me. My spouse even performed on the laptop computer within the different room, so whereas we had been passing ships within the wind in any other case, we had been in a position to enterprise round a fantasy world and construct the Viking homestead of our desires, all whereas escaping the torment of a screaming toddler.
I genuinely credit score this area of interest profit with saving my sanity and serving to my marriage to no finish, and it’s one thing for which I’ll at all times be grateful to my trustworthy standing desk.
It makes celebrating wins extra enjoyable
What do you do once you win a web-based match or defeat that epic boss? Punch the air? Shout “Let’s go!”? Do a little bit victory dance? I do know I do! And that’s a lot extra enjoyable once you’re standing up. It’s onerous to rejoice once you’re plopped in a chair. But standing? Have at it!
I even get pleasure from extra pre-emptive celebrations whereas standing. When taking part in board video games through Tabletop Simulator, if I handle a very spectacular flip of cube rolls and strategic selections, or understand my buddy is about to fall right into a lure I’ve rigorously deliberate, there’s nothing fairly like some fist pumping to double down on my enjoyment of the win.
It makes voice and video calls higher
I’m not a fan of video calls. (It’s a watch contact factor.) But if we’re going to do it, I’d moderately be standing. It helps maintain the air transferring round me so my profuse social-sweating isn’t so apparent. And since I’m standing, I really feel like my oracy abilities are improved. I can communicate that rather more clearly, with much less of my standard tendency to mumble or stutter.
I’d need to ask my editors whether or not they discover a distinction, however I positively really feel extra assured standing. It retains my arms off-camera, too, so I can extra readily fiddle with a fidget toy out of sight.
I lastly get the standing desk hype
Standing is only a lifestyle for me at this level. Until I come up towards some doubtlessly extreme destructive well being results of standing desks—perhaps circulatory points, blood clots, varicose veins, and so on.—I’m going to maintain at it. It feels higher, it mitigates my worst habits, and it helps me focus higher. It even makes my small workplace really feel a bit greater, too.
Sure, the upfront value is a little bit excessive, so I don’t wish to handwave the privilege on this one. But I began out with cardboard bins underneath my keyboard, mouse, and monitor to ape the dearer choices. It’s doable on a funds, and I like to recommend it for anybody who spends various hours sitting at a desk on daily basis.
Come dance like an fool with me whereas we work. I feel you’ll prefer it.
Further studying: The best remote work accessories for your home office