02 Oct Stand Your Way To Better Health
Weaving Sit-Stand Intervals into Your Work Day Can Help to Safeguard Your Health
Ever heard of Sitting Disease? It is a term used to refer to metabolic syndrome and ill-effects from a sedentary lifestyle. Simply put, sitting for too long puts us at a risk of developing health issues that range from relatively benign posture-related injuries to life-threatening cardiovascular conditions and cancer.
While more study is needed on the effects of sitting and physical activity on health, it is quite apparent that more movement and less sitting goes a long way to safeguarding our health. And puncturing those long periods of sitting with standing, is one of the best ways to start!
Stand Strong and Tall
By now, we’re quite sure that prolonged sitting down sounds like a villain already, but take note that standing for too long, and in the wrong way, can do as much harm to our bodies. So here are 3As to help us stand strong and tall for better health!
- Alternate between sitting and standing. Studies show that standing for too long can cause tension to our leg muscles, tendons, other connective tissues and possibly varicose veins. Therefore ideally, one should alternate sitting and standing positions every 30 to 60 minutes.
- Align table top to elbow height, and screen to eye level. Much of the muscle strains originate from improper alignment of furniture to the user. More often than not, we find ourselves bending over or overstretching, compromising on the ergonomics of our workstations and eventually our own health. Whether standing or sitting down, be sure that the table height is aligned with your elbows (and shoulders are not hunched), and the top of the your monitor is level with your eyes. Not only will this help to minimise strains on your neck and shoulders, it goes to reduce risk of wrist injury by ensuring your keyboard and mouse are kept at same level of your wrists.
- Allocate proper breaks. Whether it is a water break or toilet break, it is necessary to move around to ensure healthy circulation. Plus, taking breaks from the screen will also help to maintain eye health.
From Stand Desks to Height-Adjustable Tables
The stand desk is a response to the health threat of prolonged sitting. About a decade back, there was already much talk about the ill-effects of office workers sitting for too long at their work desks, which then gave rise to the installation of stand desks at work places where users stand to complete their tasks. Today, this idea has been refined even further, giving birth to height-adjustable tables.
The beauty of height-adjustable tables is that they allow their users to adjust table heights to suit their own preference, at their own timing, while not risking toppling over as might happen with makeshift ones. This makes introducing sit-stand intervals into a work day infinitely easier, therefore positively impacting overall health. In this pandemic era, when many of us start to need to work from home, the height-adjustable table proves to be a gem, improving the ergonomic factor of a work-from-home set up. And as a bonus, if you’re sharing the table with Junior, the table height can be adjusted to suit the child’s height. 
How to Choose Your Right Fit?
As of now, you will probably have 101 choices popping up on your screen when you search for “height-adjustable table”. Yet, the golden question remains how to get the best bang for your bucks, right? So there’s a quick checklist for you =)
- Material. Your height-adjustable table will cost you more than the regular desk, so you’ll want to make sure that you’re getting your money’s worth. Check that your table’s chassis is made of cold-rolled steel. Cold-rolled steel has higher resistance against tension breaking and deformation, while remaining aesthetically pleasing. So the end result will be a durable and good-looking table for you.
- Motor. Check out the specifications of the height-adjustment motor. Is it single or dual? Does it promise stable height-adjustments? The last thing you want is your items falling off the table top during height-adjustments!
- Noise Level. We’re assuming you’ll be conscientiously alternating between standing and sitting, so you’ll be adjusting your table height approximately every 30 minutes. Now, we would want this transition to be done with as little disturbance as possible, wouldn’t we? So, check the specifications for noise emission, or even better, get an appointment to test out the furniture before you commit to the purchase =)
Offitek now offers ErgoDesk and ErgoLITE height-adjustable tables at special prices!
Test out our display sets before making your decision because you want to be sure you’re making the right choice! We’re located at 5042 Ang Mo Kio Ind Park 2 #01-505 Singapore 569545. Meanwhile, have a sneak preview of our ErgoDesk:
Click here for ErgoDesk & ErgoLITE Special Promo!
