I’ve started seeing articles circulating online again about how sitting all day is horrible for your health. In fact, the article states “Sitting can be fatal”!!! How scary is that?
I’m a graphic artist/web designer…most of my day (and sometimes my night) is spent sitting in front of a computer. I can’t walk around and do my job, and in order to make enough money to pay the bills, I have to work many hours a day. Does that mean I’m shortening my life span just by doing my job??
Thankfully, the study also found that taking ‘mini-breaks’ during the day, including standing, moving around, marching in place can help lower blood sugar, rev up metabolism and increase circulation.
“If you want to put that into activity levels,” Dr Buckley says, “then that would be the equivalent of running about 10 marathons a year. Just by standing up three or four hours in your day at work.” – Source
So, I’ve decided to make a concerted effort to start using my kangaroo desk again.
“Kangaroo desk?” You say quizzically….”what’s THAT?” Well, here it is:
It’s a platform of sorts that sits atop your current desk that you can adjust up or down so you can work sitting or standing. It’s pretty darn cool.
You put your keyboard, mouse and monitor on it and then move it up to stand or back down to sit.
The platform is adjustable to various heights. I’m 5’9” and it works well for that height, and I don’t have it set to its tallest setting.
The monitor stand is adjustable separately from the keyboard/mouse stand so you can customize it to the perfect eye-level. There’s even a Velcro strap you can use to keep your monitor stable as you move it.
And, there are detachable side work surfaces if you need even more space (they attach in seconds without any tools needed). There is also an option for dual monitors (caveat: it only works with certain monitors and there is a weight limit).
(in the down position, you can hardly even tell it’s there!)
The platform comes completely assembled. All you have to do is pull it out of the box and place it on your desk. It is pretty heavy, so you may want a little help lifting it onto your desk.
Not only is it a cool thing to show off to your friends (and your blog readers), but it can also help alleviate back pain (as it has in my instance) and according to some articles, can help you burn up to 2500 more calories per month! It can also promote better core strength, improved circulation and greater productivity. I always feel more energized after standing a bit.
I swap out standing/sitting. I find I can stand for about an hour and a half before I’m really ready to sit back down. I try to stand at least twice a day. Maybe I’ll eventually work up to more time standing, but for now, that’s 3 hours more of standing a day than I was getting before.
Recommendations:
- Wear supportive shoes while standing. I’ve found that my feet/lower legs hurt a bit after standing all day. I keep an old pair of crocks under my desk and slip those on while I stand. Or you could buy a padded matt.
- Make sure your desk/monitor height is setup appropriately. You don’t want to end up looking too far up or down while either standing or sitting. The desk has a separate adjustment for the monitor, so you can adjust the height for either situation.
- Set a timer to remind you to stand up. I tend to think about standing (“Oh, I should stand up…let me finish this one email…”) and then I forget. So, setup reminder to stand.
- Figure out what tasks you’re better doing sitting vs standing. For instance, inputting expenses into Quickbooks takes very little concentration and is fairly boring. It’s perfect for standing. I find that when I code or design, I need to sit so I can think better (yes, I’m a little weird that way).
Take a little time to get used to it. Don’t expect that you’re going to immediately start standing 8 hours every day. It’s probably no better to stand all day than to sit all day anyway, so switch it out.
Synopsis:
If you want to add some standing/moving time to your day for health benefits or to relive some back pain, I highly recommend a stand up desk. It’s made a big difference in how I feel, it burns more calories, plus, it’s kinda fun! Oh, and it might keep you from dying. (This article is not intended as medical advice!)
Benefits:
- Ease of setup and use
- Solid wood materials
- Hydraulic system that makes it super easy and quick to adjust the height
- Comes in 4 colors to match your current desk system
- Works with a laptop or workstation with separate monitor
- Pretty darn cool to look at
Drawbacks:
- Slightly bouncy, but comes with a stabilizing leg to ease that
- Takes a little while to get used to
- Heavy to get out of the box
- Bulky to move
Disclaimer: No, I didn’t get paid to write this review, nor did Kangaroo solicit me to write it. I just really love this desk and think it’s a great way to improve your health, ease back pain, and burn more calories without having to do anything other than just stand up!
References:
http://www.ergodesktop.com/content/kangaroo-0
http://lifehacker.com/standing-for-3-hours-a-day-on-weekdays-is-like-running-1447078889
