Creating an effective workspace and how you work is key for a remote worker. This article highlights the benefits of mixing up sitting and standing during the work day.
Experts suggest that standing while working does more good for remote workers than sitting for long hours. It helps improve brain performance, increase productivity and reduce lower back pain.
But standing for too long may injure the knees and strain the leg joints and muscles.
The point here is to stay as comfortable as possible during working hours. Sitting or standing for too long can strain parts of your body, leading to decreased focus and body pain.
One solution is a height-adjustable laptop stand, which allows you to switch between standing and sitting smoothly.
Multiple studies have shown sit-stand is the sweet spot to work from home comfortably.
In this article, you’ll learn 5 benefits of standing and sitting while working from home.
You probably know that movement is good for our bodies. It gets the heart beating and blood flowing, which provides oxygen to the cells.
Switching from sitting to standing and vice-versa is a form of movement. It requires you to push the chair out of the desk, stand up, and unfold the height-adjustable laptop stand. You can also sneak in a bit of neck and backstretch.
This is why when remote workers start shifting their sit routine to sit-and-stand, they feel less tired.
These movements may seem small at a time, but they add up quickly and contribute to your overall well-being.
It’s easy for remote workers to hunch over while sitting at their desks. This sitting posture puts a strain on the spine and can cause neck, shoulder, and back pain.
Standing, however, introduces a much natural position - the spine is usually straight, and the neck is tucked in (provided that the workspace is set up ergonomically).
Workers who “took a stand” actually sat for only 66 minutes a day, and their upper back and neck pain is reduced by more than half.
Less time spent sitting and substituting those hours with standing helps reduce neck, shoulder, and back pain significantly.
The workers who “took a stand” also experienced an improved overall mood and energy. In fact, so much so that at least 1 in 2 felt more comfortable, energized, focused, and happier.
In another study by researchers in the United Kingdom and Australia, workers with standing desks are shown to spend less time sitting and improved their engagement with work, daily anxiety, and overall quality of life.
Moving between sitting and standing throughout your day fuels your brain with more oxygen and glucose.
This means your brain gets the energy it needs to function. In turn, you can think clearer, focus longer, and remember more things than sitting for long hours - which leads to higher productivity.
Countless researchers and experts have found a significant link between intermittent bouts of sitting and standing and productivity.
Remote workers with height-adjustable laptop desks have significantly increased their productivity by 23% in the first month and 53% by the 6th month.
How does this work?
Standing engages your brain and body muscles to maintain balance. This gives you a mile dose of stress - not so much that it’s overwhelming but just enough to juice up your brain processing power.
A few minutes off the chair each day can add years to your life, researchers suggested.
In a study involving nearly 8,000 American adults, people who replaced 30 minutes of sitting per day with low-intensity physical activities, such as standing, walking, stretching, lowered their early death risk by 17%.
Conversely, those who spend most of each workday sitting in a chair may have a shorter lifespan, according to a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
One of the biggest factors that affect remote workers’ productivity is the workspace. The more comfortable you are while working, the more productive you will be.
Fatigue, neck pain, shoulder stiffness, and many more conditions - resulted from prolonged sitting - can decrease the comfort level.
The good news is, simply replacing your sitting hours with standing rewards you with a slew of health benefits, including:
The best way to reap all these rewards is to invest in the right workspace equipment.
A height-adjustable laptop stand - that is about the size and weight of your laptop - gives you the freedom and mobility to stay productive and healthy in any position, anywhere.
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