Do Standing Desks' Benefits Stand Up to Research?

Research suggests that warnings about sitting at work are overblown, and that standing desks are overrated as a way to improve health. Let's dig in.

Aaron has a book out now! It’s called The Bad Food Bible: How and Why to Eat Sinfully. You can order a copy now!!!

Any local bookstore you might frequent. You can ask for the book by name or ISBN 978-0544952560

John Green -- Executive Producer
Stan Muller -- Director, Producer
Aaron Carroll -- Writer
Mark Olsen – Graphics
Meredith Danko – Social Media

And the housekeeping:

[AvailableUsernameTed]

Well I'm sticking with my underwater desk with adjustable current. Its got its problems too, like when I got a paper cut and the sharks were attracted by the blood.

[kouusa]

After working in jobs were you were not allowed to sit down --"Chairs are for Customers"-- you tend to be a little disbelieving of the 'standing your way to better health' idea. The number of people in pain, myself included, from standing for hours on end --worse when in one spot-- is significant. Numerous amounts of stress fractures in the feet, back issues, and a sense of learned helplessness over it seems prevalent in the retail industry.

I dream of finally getting a desk job.

[dvklaveren]

I have a standing desk for the specific purpose of putting a hard-limit on my gaming time. That way, I don't retreat into myself. It's worked really well! I'm also more active around the house and more inclined to walk after standing behind it.

[bendirval]

I've been using a standing computer desk at work for a long time. I also have a music stand I use to read documents while standing. Haven't lost any weight but I have far fewer back and neck pains than I had when I sat all day. I think the conclusion here is as following: Standing is not exercise, but it is good for your back. It also encourages you to go out and walk around once in a while.

[iamgerg]

I think the disconnect here is "standing." I work at home which means I don't get any tangential exercise. My Apple watch says I went from 3000 steps a day at work to less than 500 working at home.

Having since purchased a sit stand desk, I'm back up to over 3000 steps, because I'm prone to pacing when I think.

It's not exercise per se, but it is a difference in behavior. I'm not sure how you quantify it, but it feels better to me.

[LucysCorsetry]

I can only speak for myself, but I bought a treadmill desk in 2016 and I still use it to walk on average 4 hours a day. Within the first 6 months I was down over 40 pounds, and my plantar fasciitis and knee crepitus I had since I was a teenager resolved within months and have never come back. Also, I had a car accident in 2014 that left me with a neck injury and sciatica, which would flare up badly every 2-3 months - since my desk height can be adjusted up and down throughout the course of the day, I'm not straining my neck or slouching my back when I'm typing up emails or watching a movie and I've had hardly any flareups since (and they have been very small, I don't need muscle relaxants for them anymore). My desk isn't a replacement for other types of exercise (like weight lifting) but it's still one of the best investments I ever made for myself.

[slightlycrummy]

I wish I had this video 2 months ago when I wrote a "wellness tip" at work that it's nice to get up every once in a while during the workday. This triggered a suggestion box request for employees to get standing desks upon request. Then came a very active couple of months for me, who was in charge of installing about forty 70 lb desks. I think I'm the only one that got any actual exercise since.

[darkbluematter]

I sit a lot and lay down a lot because I feel like crap and am too tired to stand much, because POTS and endometriosis. When I feel better, I exercise and stand more, because I can. Treating people’s underlying health issues that cause chronic pain or chronic fatigue will allow them to move more. People who exercise a lot are healthier because you have to have a certain baseline level of health in order to be physically able to exercise a lot.

[ojiverdeconfleco]

Thank you for covering this. I also read your book "Bad Food Bible", and I really appreciate how you take research and put it in lay terms to help calm "health crazes". You (and I assume the team working with you as well) do amazing, good work. Thank you.

[FruityHachi]

i don't know how people can promote standing for long periods of time
rotating positions and taking breaks is where it's at, have been doing it since the beginning of this year because of back problems, and i thought i was the weird one not being able to sit or stand for long and people pity me, but then i learned that i'm the one doing it right

[JonathanIsrael]

When will people realize life is about balance.

[ItsLoriK]

I can't express properly how much I love this channel. Everyone should be watching.

[MarshallSteeves]

I honestly am so much more productive and awake when I stand. Health or not, it makes me feel better when I’m standing!

[SteveRamsey]

I love my sit-stand desk, but rarely use it sitting. I like standing because I fidget a lot and kind of like dancing around. I think the biggest problem with sitting is that most of us don't do it right. We tend to have poor posture, slump or slouch, or sit in other twisted positions.

[mfahlers]

i love everything about this video. Both the content and your skilled presentation.

[KatinkaTeardrop]

I loved the height adjustable desk at my last job, it really helped with my back pain. I never heard or thought that it was supposed to be good for cardiovascular health.

[aedanhannabeshoi]

Love the breakdown of these videos, I say as I stare at my phone and wait for a call from med school! Have you ever done a video on Doctors Without Borders and the work they actually do/ the debt alleviation they offer volunteers?

[elektrikhd]

I've been having neck pain, those underlying issues also aggravating my migraines, and I finally made the connection that the desk and tables at my job are all too low for me, leaving me hunched over while doing paperwork. In the past 2-3 weeks, I've taken to bringing the paperwork a little bit at a time from the office into another room, working on it, bringing it back and exchanging it for the next set of paperwork, going back to the other room to work on that, rinse and repeat. This has helped a lot just because I now only spend 10-15 minutes sitting with paperwork before getting up and walking, even if it's just for a couple of minutes, rather than sitting for over an hour without a break. I just did it to help my neck, but maybe I'll get some additional benefits as well--I could certainly use them!

[sarahlizzieful]

I love the content on this channel! It would be great to have links to the cited articles in the description.

[BrandonSchleifer]

The best thing about those desks is that you can adjust your chair for your body, then lower or raise the desk based on your chair. Non-adjustable desks require you to adjust the chair to the height of the desk, meaning it's not adjusted to your body anymore.
The same effect can usually be achieved with a keyboard tray.