The best way to use a standing desk — and what to buy to maximize the benefits
As medical research about the health dangers of prolonged sitting has poured in over the past few years, standing desk have emerged as a valuable workplace perk.
 
The 2018 Employee Benefits Survey from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that company offering of standing desks to workers grew by nine percentage points (from 44 to 53 percent) in the previous 12 months.
 
Last June, Apple CEO Tim Cook shared that all his employees had standing desk with drawers, saying that the combination of sitting and standing was “much better for [the employee’s] lifestyle.”
 
The spike in interest also ties into the fact that “individual workspaces have shrunk a lot over the years”, Jonathan Webb, VP of Workplace Strategy at KI says. “Providing the freedom to move vertically throughout the day often makes up for the lack of horizontal movement in a larger workstation.”
 
So, if you have the luxury of a stand up desk in your office, how can you use it best? What sort of stretches might help get the blood flowing and what furniture accessories can help you get the most benefits on a budget?

 
Standing too long can be as bad as over-sitting
First, one must note that a height adjustable desk shouldn’t replace sitting — and that standing for very long periods isn’t something doctors or physical therapists recommend.
 
“Standing idly can cause problems, mostly vascular,” says Dr. Andrew Elkwood, MD, founder and director of the Center for Treatment of Paralysis and Reconstructive Nerve Surgery at Jersey Shore Medical Center. “Standing all day puts a lot of pressure on your legs which can cause swelling, varicose veins and hemorrhoids.”
 
Dr. Susan Chan, physical therapist at Stanford Health Care, adds that prolonged standing can lead to “collapsed veins in the lower extremities,” as well as “knee pain, back pain and hip pain.”
 
If using a electirc desk, be sure not to overdo it, and remember to sit down periodically. “Find moderation between sitting and standing. Alternate every hour or so,” Chan says.
Build up to hours of standing in 15 and 10 minute increments
If you’ve just set out using a standing l shaped desk, you have probably found that it can be tiring to stand straight for an hour straight.
 
This should become easier in time, but take care in building up to a level of comfortable tolerance.
 
“On your first day, [stand] for 15 minutes,” says Chan. “See how that goes and then sit down for a bit. Add 10 minutes as you’re able to tolerate it. Your body needs to acclimate. Working on some core strengthening, back strengthening and leg exercises will be important and helpful to get your body in shape for standing. An office person isn't normally active [in the office], so we need to learn to move in realities and environments that we’re not used to doing so in.”
 
In the beginning, set an alarm to remind yourself to stand
"Using a standing desk small does take some getting used to,” says Webb. “We get so used to sitting in a sedentary position all day, so we forget that we have this sit/stand desk to use. I encourage users to set alarms on their phones or on their computers to remind themselves to stand up — and sit back down. You can set the times for whenever you want. After a while, it’ll become second nature to sit and stand throughout the day."

Idleness is the enemy: Mix in movements and stretches
Chan uses a standing gaming desk as do many of her clients, and while she appreciates the benefits, she’s emphatic that a standing desk must not replace walks, stretches and other movement.
 
“For 60 seconds [every hour] do something [such as] heel rises, knee bend squats, marching in place or walking up and down the hallway just to get blood flow going,” Chan says. “The key thing is moving.”
 
Juliet Guisasola, a yoga teacher based in Los Angeles, has been hired to teach yoga to corporations to alleviate pain associated with sitting or standing for too long of periods, and finds that both can be problematic.
 
“Besides stretching at your standing computer desk I encourage people to get their body moving throughout the day,” Guisasola says. “Take the stairs, park further away, and walk to your co-workers desk to ask them something instead of shooting an email.”
 
Work in these yoga moves for neck, shoulders, back and legs
If you can work in a few yoga poses throughout the work day, consider these suggestions from Guisasola:
 
For neck/shoulders: Neck rolls, shoulder rolls, chin retraction, eagle arms, cross body arm stretches, cow-face pose
For your back: Cat/cow on a chair, puppy dog at desk or wall, twists side to side at chair.
For your legs: Calf stretches, lift knees while standing, one leg chair at desk (standing, or sitting in a chair)
Good posture is critical to standing desk success
Good posture at a standing desk and ergonomic office chair is key to the benefits, as hunching, “can cause significant neck strain, whether you are standing or sitting,” says Dr. Leo Rozmaryn, orthopaedic surgeon for The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics. .
 
Dr. Chan adds that using a standing desk while holding “postures that aren’t the best”, (like for instance, leaning predominantly to one side) can create negative effects.
 
While we tend to know what good posture looks like, it can be trickier to know what it feels like. How do you know you’re doing it right?
 
“One of the best metaphors I ever got while studying ballet, that I repeated to my students for years, is that your skeleton is designed to hold your weight without your body working too hard. You just have to line up your joints,” says Auburn Scallon, a former ballet teacher.
 
“So, imagine a string from the crown of your head holding your spine straight while keeping your chin level (not dropping it down towards your neck). Envision your shoulders sitting in a straight line above your hips above your knees above your ankles and then let your body rest on that solid structure. Throughout all of this, picture your ribcage closing and your tailbone pointing towards the floor, not arching towards the back wall or tucking forward.”