Standing desks are a great option for improving your work place health and daily habits. Many people decide to get a standing desk to reduce the amount of time they are sitting, and to enjoy the many benefits that standing at your desk brings. However, when you first start standing at your desk it is common to wonder how long should you stand at your standing desk?
Are you supposed to stand the entire day to maximize the benefits? Should you spilt up standing vs sitting by a percentage of time? Or is better to only stand at your desk for short periods of time, and sit for the majority of the time?
These are common questions that each have unique circumstances that we will discuss here to help you decide how long should you stand at your standing desk.
Sitting vs. Standing
You will frequently hear the common phrase “sitting is the new smoking” in the standing desk community. This catchy moniker caught on when standing desks really started to get more and more popular in offices around the world.
More and more studies were researching the negative effects of sitting for long periods of times. Many of the results showed that we spend much more time sitting and sedentary than our ancestors. This was having a lasting impact to our generation’s health.
More troubling, was that the majority of the sitting in most people’s lives occurs at work. The negative impacts of sitting for long periods of time were starting to look similar to those of smoking. Enter the standing desk or sit to stand desk converters.
Standing desks started becoming more and more popular and common place in offices around the world. Varidesk commercials were a household name and many DIY standing desk photos were going viral on the internet.
Research was now turning to whether standing at your desk was producing the benefits people expected. Did using a standing desk actually make you healthier? Many studies went both ways on this, mostly depending on what the purpose of the study was.
Do you lose more calories using a standing desk vs sitting all day? There were specific calorie loss studies for that.
Did it improve the health of your heart? There were specific studies for that.
Does research support how long you should stand at your standing desk?
In general the numbers tested are small for short periods of time over small populations, and frankly it was different for every person. The most important take away from the specific focused studies is that what you may gain from a standing desk will differ from another person’s experience.
However, the vast majority of research shows that standing more than sitting, and erasing the amount of time you are sedentary is better for your long term health. Sitting less is the desireable endstate. It just so happens that as you are sitting less, there are more and more possible benefits to enjoy while standing.
Some people do exercises while they are standing, or take time to stretch while standing at their standing desk. Others resort to sitting on a stability ball in between standing, or standing on a Bosu ball. Walking on a treadmill or riding a bike are also common at standing desks.
These types of activities separate the amount of gain you’ll get from standing at a standing desk from one person to the next. Question is, how long should you stand vs sit at your desk?
How long should you sit at your desk?
Most people sit at their desk all day at home or in the classroom. A typical day of sitting could range up to 7 to 8 hours. This doesn’t include the additional hours people will sit when they get home.
Research has linked sitting at your desk for 8 hours a day throughout years of work to many unhealthy conditions. According to the Mayo Clinic, sitting too much leads to increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist, obesity and abnormal cholesterol levels. These are just a few of the unhealthy results of sitting for too long.
In general, it is recommended that you don’t sit for more than one hour at a time. After an hour, you should take a break from sitting or go for a short walk. In total, you don’t want to sit for longer than 6-8 hours per day, and the less you sit the better.
How long should you stand at a standing desk?
This gets us to our original question, how long should you stand at your standing desk? The common industry advice is that you should stand for 60% percent of the time, and sit for 40%.
Additionally, you want to incorporate occasional breaks of switching from sitting to standing. For instance, if you want to follow a 1/3 to 2/3 rule, you could sit for 20 minutes and stand for 40. Every person will be different and you will certainly want to do what is best for you.
Is it ok to stand the entire day at your standing desk?
No, do not stand the entire day at your stand up desk. This can lead to discomfort and other issues that reverse the benefits of using a standing desk. I made the same mistake when I first started standing at my desk unfortunately, and quickly learned to sit more often.
If you start to have any discomfort from standing too long, don’t push it and take a seat. Just like you want to take breaks from sitting too long, the opposite is true when using a standing desk. You want to take occasional breaks from standing at your desk by sitting for a bit or taking a walk. This will help limit discomfort, loosen up your joints, and get your blood flowing as well.
Keep in mind, if you just bought your brand new standing desk and are new to standing you will want to build up your standing endurance. At first, it is better to sit more than you actually stand.
Again, using the 60 to 40% rule is appropriate. This will allow your body to adjust to standing for longer periods of time and start building the strength that comes with using a standing desk. It won’t take long before you are stronger and starting to stand longer. This is proof of the great benefits of using standing desks.
Deciding how long you should stand at your standing desk is a personal decision based on individual preference. I highly recommended following a 60-40% or 1/3 to 2/3’s rule ensuring you are alternating from both positions throughout the day.
Hope this helps you enjoy your standing desk better and keep standing! If you’re interested in other aspects of using a standing desk check out the categories above!
