The ups and downs of standing desks, and 3 beginner mistakes to avoid

By Luria Petrucci Published April 9, 2016

You may know that stand up desks are all the rage these days. Call them stand-up desks, standing desks, or sit-stand desks,, they all allow you to sit part of the day and stand part of the day. You can still get your work done and check items off that long to do-list of yours, all while keeping you healthier. Because sitting is not awesome for you.

Did you know that sitting for too long at a time can slow your blood circulation and cause your body harm? It can not only put you at a bigger risk for herniated lumbar disks, one recent study concluded that watching a single hour of TV can take off 21.8 minutes of your life. Now imagine what sitting at work for eight or more hours can do to you! That’s a scary thought.

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Crank-ups desks require you to manually raise and lower them with a handle. These are less expensive and still awesome. You can also get pop-ups platforms for your existing desk that allow your computer to rise with you. And motorized desks are the easiest and geekiest! I have several of these from a company called UpDesk, and I adore them. Heck, mine even has a whiteboard surface on it. I love that!

So obviously, there’s a lot of variety and options for your price range.

But what I don’t want is for you to get involved in this stand up desk craze and then quickly give up on it! So many people make mistakes with them so don’t let that be you!

Mistake #1: Standing all day

No, no, no! That’s no better than sitting all day. Sit for a couple hours. Then stand for a couple hours. Rinse and repeat.

Mistake #2: Standing still like a statue

Move a bit. Fidget. Shift your weight around. I like to dance a little. But whatever floats your boat and keeps you moving! And by the way, kick off the high heels, women! It’s not worth it. Go barefoot!

Mistake #3: Trying to be super focused while standing

Most people find it easier to really concentrate on something while sitting. Personally, I like doing hardcore tasks while standing, but that doesn’t seem to be normal. You might find it easier to do emails and normal tasks while standing and writing your next bestseller book while sitting.

And by the way… give it a little time to get used to it. Yes, it’s a bit uncomfortable at first. But you’ll feel better after a week or two!

So, do you have a sit-stand desk? If so, which one? And if not, what’s stopping you? Leave a comment below, and use the links above to share this video on your favorite social media site.

Find more of Luria Petrucci at GeeksLife.com.

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Computing

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