Unless your job isn’t the deskbound type, we spend most of our time sitting in front of our laptops or computers for long hours. It doesn’t matter whether we work in an office, at home or remotely such as in cafes or co-working spaces. This can easily lead to a sedentary lifestyle, particularly if you are hardly an active person. Excessive sitting can increase the likes of heart disease, obesity and high blood pressure.
This brings us to the standing desks. Some of you might be wondering: Why choose a standing desk when you can sit comfortably on the chair while working?
1) Reduces Inactivity
Working on a standing desk allows you to move more. And that includes your arms and legs. For instance, why not multitask by working on your laptop while exercising your legs on say, a walking pad? Or while you are on a short break, try a vertical push-up (make sure your standing desk is sturdy, though) or other simple exercises like arm stretches and ankle rotations. All these help to keep your body active while increasing blood circulation and stimulating mental health.
2) May Minimise Back Pain
Those who sit a lot commonly have to deal with upper and lower back pain. However, using a standing back can make a difference in reducing those pesky back pains. Standing can improve your posture while easing off the typical pressure associated with your lower spine. According to an NCBI study, those who participated in a work-posture experiment alternating between standing and sitting managed to reduce nearly 32% lower back pain.
3) Boost Your Mood and Energy
Sitting too much can lead to fatigue, which in turn, makes you lose concentration while working. Standing, on the other hand, promotes better blood flow and oxygen to your body. You will probably feel more alert and energetic as opposed to the regular all-day sitting mode. Not to mention it improves your mood, which helps to keep you mentally sharp and focused as you are completing your daily work routine.
4) May Lower Your Risk of Weight Gain
Did you know that standing can help shed 88 calories an hour? This beats sitting all day long, which can store more fats in your body, particularly in the belly area. By adopting a standing work posture, you can benefit from burning more calories than sitting while strengthening your body’s core muscles and legs.
5) May Reduce Neck Pain
Imagine working in front of a laptop for 8-10 hours every weekday. And your neck constantly needs to be tilted to look down at the laptop screen. This is especially true if your desk is low and not aligned with your forearms as you are sitting down between the height of the chair, the desk and your laptop. Using a standing desk can promote better ergonomics, which may help alleviate neck pain.
Now that you know some of the benefits of using a standing desk, below are the five brands worth checking out if you are thinking of investing in one.
This maker of ergonomic smart desks and chairs has been around since 2017. Their Smart Desk varieties, which come in different colour options such as black and walnut, are made from quality MFC (Melamine Faced Chipboard) material. This wooden product offers better strength and stability in maintaining the durability of the EVIS Smart Desk for many years to come.
The height of the desk is electrically adjustable from 60 to 125 cm. And to make things easier, they include 4 programmable buttons that allow you to save your preferred preset heights. The EVIS Smart Desk can hold up to 150kg of weight capacity. It has some other cool features too, namely the built-in wireless mobile charger and the enhanced anti-collision technology. The latter helps to prevent your desk from moving its height adjustment if it encounters an obstacle. Finally, for peace of mind, it comes with a 5-year warranty.
FlexiSpot offers a variety of electric height-adjustable standing desks no matter if you are looking for a traditional or L-shape type. Take their E7 Premium, for example; It features a dual motor 3-stage electric height adjustment. It moves up and down smoothly and steadily while keeping your things (e.g. laptop, cup, external monitor) in place (the desk can support up to 125kg of weight capacity). It also offers better stability, which you don’t have to worry about your standing desk wobbling while you are say, typing on an external keyboard.
Other highlights include four programmable memory presets, a child lock and an all-in-one touchscreen keypad. The latter has an easy-to-read LED display with all the essential buttons included (e.g. up/down movement and height memory). The FlexiSpot standing desk comes equipped with a smart cable management system, allowing you to cover up the cables and wires within the frame tidily and mess-free.
ANEW’s primary goal is to provide ergonomically designed smart desks and chairs for better posture and minimises common neck and back pains. For standing desks, you can go for their ANEW Standard Smart Desk – Lite Set. They offer a choice of black or white design and have plenty of features to look forward to. This includes an advanced memory controller that allows you to program three memory presets once you find your ideal standing and sitting heights. The height itself supports adjustability from 73 cm to 121 cm. It even comes with a timer reminder to remind you to stand after a certain period.
If you have a bigger budget, look for the ANEW Smart Desk Pro. It boasts all the same bells and whistles as the Lite Set version. The Pro version comes equipped with a built-in USB charger, allowing you to charge your smartphone. It offers a height range from 62 cm to 128 cm and can support up to 100 kg of weight capacity. Both Pro and Lite versions come with a 5-year warranty and are flat-packed for easier storage and transport. And if that’s not enough, you can try their product risk-free for 21 days, thanks to ANEW’s trial and return policy.
Formerly known as Tyyli, one of Bolt & Chisel’s bestselling standing desks is their Raise range. Available in an integrated pop-up socket and power track options, the Raise comes in three sizes: Piccolo (120 x 70 cm), Regular (140 x 80 cm) and Grande (160 x 80 cm). It’s height-adjustable using the dual-motor system and you can save three height settings once you find the right one. The tabletop itself is made from hard laminate boards, complete with an ergonomic curve-in for minimising physical discomfort. The Raise standing desk comes with a 3-year warranty.
One of Omnidesk’s bestselling standing desk collections includes its flagship Ascent. The smart desk has a controller with larger buttons and a vibrant OLED display, complete with dimmable RGB lighting. You can even control your desk settings remotely using the Omnidesk Life App on your smartphone. This includes adjusting the height of your desk, personalising your preferred presets and saving them up to 9 memory profiles. You can also set your daily standing goal, track your progress and more.
The Omnidesk Ascent uses the Frame-X technology that offers a durable and sturdy frame base. Assembling and installing the standing desk is simple, thanks to its streamlined EasyAssembly System. And when it comes to its height adjustment, the Omnidesk Ascent can lift the desk faster up to 130 kg at 60mm/s.
