How to make you stand up: the sit-stand desk

With the incorporation of technology, sit-stand desks are entering the market, allowing to change the height of a desk with a simple push of a button. These simple operations allow to not only change the sitting times, but to change the entire behaviour related to our sitting habits. Research has shown that sit-stand desks can increase standing by more than 77 minutes over an 8 hour work day, without negatively affecting work performance.

Although sit-stand desks itself already reduce sedentary time, is has been shown that to increase standing substantially, interventions must be planned to change positions. Among the effective methods addressed is software that changes the desk’s height according to a time plan. The software will send a message asking whether the user agrees with the change or not or would like to be reminded at a later point.

Although the media is increasingly addressing the risks of prolonged sitting, the risks are still relatively unknown. Introducing standing work should therefore be accompanied by education on the benefits and the correct ways of standing. This need for education becomes especially evident when highlighting that sit-stand desks work substantially better among researchers on the topic, showing that the mere introduction is not enough; decreasing sitting times asks for a real attitude change.