Standing Desks May Not Provide the Health Benefits You Think, Says New Study

Using a standing desk has been undeniably linked to better health. However, a new observational study published in the International Journal of Epidemiology says that standing still doesn’t reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), and it could even put you at risk for developing orthostatic circulatory diseases. Here’s a look at the findings and how you can use them to adjust your work routine and become less sedentary.

Study Findings

A sedentary lifestyle is usually defined as extended periods of sitting, reclining, or lying down with an overall energy expenditure of less than 1.5 metabolic equivalents. But could standing still be considered sedentary, too?

The study from the University of Sydney sought to understand how breaking up long periods of sitting with standing impacted cardiovascular health. Researchers collected data using research-grade wearable devices from 83,013 healthy U.K. residents over seven to eight years.

Data confirmed that sitting for more than 10 hours a day increased the risk of both CVD and orthostatic circulatory diseases, like varicose veins and deep vein thrombosis. Standing more often did not increase the risk of CVD, but it didn’t decrease the risk either, as previously thought. In fact, standing more than two hours daily increases the risk for orthostatic circulatory diseases. 

• For every hour over 10 hours of sitting, the risk of circulatory disease increased by 26%.
• For every half hour over 2 hours of standing, the risk of circulatory disease increased by 11%.

“The key takeaway is that standing for too long will not offset an otherwise sedentary lifestyle and could be risky for some people in terms of circulatory health.” says lead author Matthew Ahmadi, PhD, in a recent press release. The study measured any moment of standing still throughout the day and did not focus exclusively on time spent at standing desks.

How to Incorporate More Movement in Your Lifestyle

Emmanual Stamatakis, professor and director of the Mackenzie Wearables Research Hub, offered some advice for reducing your risk in the press release. “For people who sit for long periods on a regular basis, including plenty of incidental movement throughout the day and structured exercise may be a better way to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease,” says Stamatakis.

Stamatakis emphasized taking regular breaks, walking around, going for a walking meeting, using the stairs, taking regular breaks when driving long distances, or using your lunch hour to add some movement. Previous research from the group discovered that 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise or 6 minutes of vigorous exercise daily was enough to lower CVD risk, even if you were highly sedentary. Every little bit of movement helps.