🔒Taking aim at sitting: Standing desks combat recent findings that ‘sitting is the new smoking’

Traditionally, spending the day on your feet has been considered a downside of any given job.

But as mounting research shows the health risks that go along with prolonged periods of sitting, more employers in Maine and nationwide are finding that going vertical at work and encouraging their staffers to do the same makes for a happier, healthier and even a more productive workplace.

“People need to be comfortable in order to be creative. They have to have a healthy work environment,” says Taja Dockendorf, founder of Pulp and Wire, a Portland branding and marketing agency. She bought a desk that gives her the flexibility to sit or stand last year. Now, four of the nine people in her office have these desks too.

“After a day at my standing desk, I actually feel really rejuvenated,” she says. “I have more sustained energy. Instead of that crash in the afternoon, because I'm standing and moving, my energy is more consistent and stable.”

‘Sitting disease’

Employers like Dockendorf are hoping to avoid the myriad ailments that scientists have now proven to emanate from spending eight, 10, or even more hours per day in a sedentary position on a daily basis. Studies have continued to pile up in recent years showing the risk of what has come to be known as “sitting disease.”

To name a few:

• A review of research published in the January 2015 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine concluded that sitting for prolonged periods of time increases risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and death — even in those who exercise on a regular basis.

• A study published in the January 2015 issue of the Journal of Physical Activity & Health, which examined the cardio-respiratory fitness and sitting habits of 930 men over the course of a decade, found that those who spent at least 19 hours per week sitting down were 75% more likely than those who sat less than 12 hours per week to develop metabolic syndrome, a constellation of chronic illnesses that includes diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. That was true even in those who had high levels of physical fitness.

• Even just reducing the amount of sitting time by as little as an hour can have an impact, research shows. A 2011 study conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that when workers used standing desks and reduced their sitting time by just over 60 minutes per day, they reduced their upper back and neck pain by 54%. They also reduced low back pain and shoulder tension and improved posture. Plus, workers reported feeling more comfortable, more energized, healthier, more focused and productive, happier and less stressed.

Sara Lewis, director of client service at Spinnaker Trust in Portland, got a standing desk about a year ago, after reading about the benefits and contending with knee pain that nagged at her when she sat at her desk. The results were immediate. The knee pain completely disappeared, and being on her feet all day put her in motion a lot more.

“I'm definitely moving around a lot more because I'm standing,” she says. “And even just moving in little bits you just feel better.”

Better collaboration

There's even evidence that it makes employees work together more effectively. In a study published in the June 2014 issue of Social Psychological and Personality Science, where researchers explored how the physical space impacts interpersonal dynamics, researchers concluded that getting people out of their chairs at work may increase their capacity for collaborative work. They were more mentally engaged, less territorial about their ideas and more creative. Ultimately, they performed better.

“A non-sedentary workspace enhances the extent to which people engage in collaborative information elaboration — a key ingredient to high performance on knowledge work,” the study authors wrote.

Plus it makes it easier to go out on a walk, which has been proven to enhance learning, memory and cognition. In an April 2014 study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, researchers concluded that walking boosts workers' creativity — even after they return to their desks.

“Walking opens up the free flow of ideas, and it is a simple and robust solution to the goals of increasing creativity and increasing physical activity,” the authors wrote.

Dockendorf has noticed the difference in her agency's office space.

“It's easier to go over and talk to someone,” she says. “There's not that extra effort of standing up to walk around the corner to talk to someone or do a quick stretch. And we find that it engages a little bit more conversation.”

Don’t just stand. Move

To be sure, ergonomics experts point out that it's the movement — not just standing still — that provides the health benefits.

When you move around, the muscles change in length, which helps pump blood through the muscles, and delivers nutrients throughout your body and removes metabolic wastes, explains Alan Hedge, professor in the Department of Design and Environmental Analysis at Cornell University.

Standing in the same position for hours at a time can cause problems of its own, he says. It can increase the risks of varicose veins, puts greater strain on the circulatory system in the legs and feet, and it requires about 20% more energy than sitting. So it burns a few more calories, but is more tiring.

Indeed, the first day Lewis had her standing station coincided with a rare day that her calendar was clear of meetings — and opportunities to sit down. At the end of the day, her legs hurt.

“I was standing for eight hours, and I thought, 'What did I do?'” she says. Now she has plenty of meetings and opportunities to vary her position and posture. And she looks for opportunities to stand whenever she can.

“I have really enjoyed it and definitely wouldn't go back,” she says.

Hedge suggests building more movement into every work day. If you are sitting, do so at a height-adjustable downward tilting keyboard tray. Then, every 20 minutes take a posture break — stand for eight minutes and move for two minutes.

Even just walking around is sufficient to get the benefits: Take the stairs, walk to the bathroom, step outside from the building for a few minutes, you'll feel the difference.

A ripple effect

As cries that “sitting is the new smoking” have mounted, sales of desks that give workers the flexibility to stand or sit have prospered. Standing desk maker Varidesk started two years ago with two employees and now has 64 employees and its products are in 60 countries. The company's products are in 70% of all Fortune 500 companies.

The desks, which start around $300, are particularly popular in Maine, says Brad Shipp, public relations manager for the Dallas-based company. Though the company doesn't disclose sales, he says that Maine has one of the highest rates of standing desks per capita in the country.

“It really plays to the psychographics of the Maine resident,” says Shipp. “People in Maine really understand that movement is important. There's an emphasis on health.”

Standing while working tends to be contagious in office environments, he adds.

“You'll have an early adopter suddenly standing at their desk. Then people come over and ask, 'What is this and why are you standing?'” he says. “We find that once an office orders one of our products, you begin to see a sort of ripple effect within that office, and see multiple orders.”

Happier, healthier employees

About a year ago, Kleinschmidt, a Pittsfield-based consultancy that provides engineering, regulatory and environmental services to the hydroelectric industry, started offering Varidesk units to its employees, along with other tools to help make their work stations more ergonomically correct, like headsets to staff members who spend a lot of time on the phone and keyboards of all shapes and sizes.

Now, about 20 of the company's 128 employees stand up while they work. While it's too early to tell — and they may never know — what kind of impact the standing desks have on health care premiums, they are already seeing a more enduring benefit.

“People are less tired and have more energy,” says Renea Qua, facilities manager for Kleinschmidt. “Happier employees with more energy are more productive employees.” That, she adds, “results in happier clients.”

Susan Ouellette, Kleinschmidt's director of human resources, says standing relieved the shoulder pain that she had experienced while sitting at her desk. While sitting, she noticed that it was easy to hunch over and even tense up her shoulders and back. “My shoulder didn't like that at all,” she says. “I found that standing really helped.”

Hall Marketing, a Portland marketing firm, got standing desks a year ago, and now about half of the staff stands while they work. Some team members have noticed improvements in back pain, posture, and they got an energy boost from being able to move around more, especially after lunch, company officials say.

Dockendorf says that her investment in sit-to-stand stations helps buoys morale.

“I think it comes down to culture and ethos,” says Dockendorf. “Standing and being more active creates a healthier work environment. And when you show you care about your individual team members' needs and lifestyle choices that helps foster long-term employees.”