Standing desks are becoming more and more popular in offices around the world. But, what if we told you that a standing desk at work may actually make you lazier outside of work?
According to new research from Loughborough University, the “compensation effect” occurs when people spend more time sitting in the evening after standing at work all day.
The study analyzed 40 office workers for two weeks before installing standing desks to get a baseline reading and then studied the participants for three months while they used the standing desks.
At the end of the three months, researchers concluded that people with standing desks only sat for 44 minutes less during the day. This means that a standing desk is not enough to improve overall posture and health.
Stacy Clemes, one of the study’s authors, said, to improve overall posture and health, “it is recommended that individuals consciously think about ways they can reduce their sitting time outside of work, so as to avoid undoing any beneficial effects of reduced sitting at work.”
So for those of you leading the standing desk charge, you may want to reconsider skipping the gym and start parking further from the door at the grocery store.
And, if you’ve been on the committee to bring standing desks in to your office, you may want to tap the brakes until more research is done, or, if you really want to make a difference, also volunteer to chair the committee for an after-work running group.
