Standing up for Your Health

Standing Desks - worth it?

Can we really undo the harm that sitting for long hours can do, simply by exercise and healthy eating?

There's been an interesting buzz around the subject of standing desks and the potential benefits to our health.  New research indicates that our current 'sitting for hours a day' style of working, may cause more harm than we anticipated.  Indeed, some go as far as to state that simply incorporating exercise, such as a visit to the gym at the end of the day, may not actually undo that damage (check out this interesting article by friend and writer - Cliff Goodwin).

So, in a bid to find out for myself just what this standing desk mullarky is all about, I have decided to give it a go. A quick look on Amazon led to me thinking 'what the??' and 'how much??'  So I realised that I needed to have a better idea of what i actually needed before buying one. 

Inspired by the 'DIY' efforts of others, I cobbled together this baby:

I have basically plonked an old coffee table (an 'elephant' table my Dad brought back from his RAF travels 40 odd years ago) on top of a dressing table and that seems to be the perfect height for me.  After a few minutes of use, however, I realised the screen was a bit low so added the case under it:

I'll see how I get on with this, but I can say that even after a day of use, it feels kind of natural and active.  I don't feel so hunched over.  The only thing I may have to adapt is the height of the keyboard.  I am quick on the keyboard but I have to look at it as I type and that seems to add a bit of strain to my neck.

I'll keep you posted. And if anyone has gone 'standing desk' and wishes to share their experience please let me know.  I'm also keen to see what DIY efforts have been made out there too.

Check out my update on the experiment here

And, following my experiment, here's my 5 top tips to achieving success with a standing desk

Keep an eye out for the next blog.

Dave Algeo

Motivational Speaker on resilience and men's mental health. 

Feeling lost, trapped or crushed by life? Here's a short video with three tips to help you get back a sense of hope and direction.