The TRUTH About STANDING DESKS 

We made a new updated video on standing vs sitting vs bicycle vs treadmill desks on my other channel! Check it out here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Kf00aEDmDf4.html

Conclusion: Don't sit down and don't stand up. Swimming desks for everyone.

This is why I purchased a desk that automatically walks away after 20 minutes.

Motorized standing desk and alternate every 60-90min sitting/standing provides best health benefits. Personal note: I change position when I change tasks and tend to block together creative + deep thinking tasks while sitting, and planning + communicating (emails, phone calls) while standing. Works like magic 😀

My mom's a pharmacist and works standing all day, and she has massive blood circulation issues. The best thing is to alternate! Not standing too much, not sitting too much.

"If you're more healthy, you're less likely to die." You don't say.

Sit for awhile....stand for awhile...move around for awhile...repeat.

Step 3 is key. I now ride my bike up the stairs to my home office and I've never felt more alive.

Actionable advice: 7:00 1. Stay hydrated 7:30 2. Adjust your system to facilitate physical activity 8:06 3. Experiment for yourself

If I sit, I can work 5 hours comfortably. If I stand, I can work 5 hours comfortably. If I alternate when my body tells me to: I can work 10 hours comfortably.

Where are the bed desks?

I don't think many people are considering standing permanently at their desk. The idea behind desk raisers is to, every 20-40 minutes of sitting, do 2-15 minutes of standing. Also, no one stands perfectly still. This video makes it sound like you have to choose between 2 extremes.

Drinking more water helps me go to the bathroom more often. Thereby, making me get up and away from my desk. Small steps lead to bigger leaps.

Anything: *exists* 'oh no thats unhealthy for you'

I think that alternation is key, and so are active breaks to move around and leave the desk. A a student, I would recommend to alternate every hour between sitting and standing. Nice video!

I've been using a treadmill desk for months now. It takes a few weeks to get used to but once you do you don't even notice you're walking while working anymore. I absolutely love it! I've lost 15 pounds without even trying and I'm in the best shape I've been in in years.

I go on all fours

Can't wait for the treadmill desk.

Congrats, that is a really well made video. Not inducing us to superficial conclusions and giving us practical advice for our lives!

I'm on my 3rd year of working from home and sitting for hours had become an issue for me. I gained weight, my hips started to hurt really bad and though I was productive with my work, afterward I just felt lazy from sitting all day. I decided to get resistance bands and whenever I had a moment I'd just get up, work out for about 15 minutes and sit back down. I did whatever I could to just move around, even if it were for just 15-20 minutes every so often. ... It worked! I felt better, healthier, stronger and it wasn't because of working out for hours at a gym. It was a constant balance of working and moving throughout the day that helped me get back in shape. Doesn't have to be a full workout session. Just a little every other hour will do wonders.

In other words, the most healthy option is to not have a desk.

65+% of studies published in scientific journals are never replicated. Small sample sizes, p-hacking, agenda’d hypotheses, and dodgy funding all contribute to this. “A new study says” is the most over-respected statement in modern times.

This video is very well done! I have used both standing desks and sitting desks for months at a time, and I have found that vigorous overall activity makes a much greater difference in my energy level, attitude, and well-being than what desk I use. So I make sure to do frequent and vigorous yard work, bike riding, and walking/hiking to offset my relatively sedentary desk time.

If all informative videos had this much research on then we would be in another planet by now. Seriously, thanks for the hard work you put on this.

I got a stand-up desk about a month ago. It's helped SO MUCH. My legs were aching from sitting so much. I'm working up to 4 hours a day - 4 up / 4 down! BUT, not four hours straight. I stand for 30-45 min at a time.

My company switched to height-adjustable desks earlier this year. While I can say that my posture has improved and my back no longer aches as often, I have noticed a decrease in my productivity. Being huddled up near my monitors while sitting allows me to get lost in my work and tackle large projects quickly, whereas I often get distracted or can’t think as deeply when I’m standing. Does anyone else experience this?

Tweak in the age of COVID and working from home: A longish training video is a perfect time to be riding an exercise bike while watching. Keep it gentle - it keeps you more awake/alert, it's movement, and it feels kinda good. I don't recommend it for meetings though - I think that'd look weird. I also retain more than just taking notes.

This is what works for me. I am a software engineer so I use computer a lot on a daily basis. Every 20 minutes I'm sitted, I stand up to get some stretching. Then, I stare at some point, anything, that is at least 5 meters away, so I can give my eyes a rest. This has helped me to avoid eyestrain related headaches. This little break takes just 2 minutes, then I sit down and continue my work for the next 20 minutes. Also, every 2 hours, I stand up and walk around for at least 15 minutes. I don't care where, just to get some fresh air and get a walk. I use a multitimer application for this, and it has worked like a charm. No need for an standing desk, at all. Also, you need to know how to properly sit and avoid slouching, that your chair is ergonomic and in good condition, etc.

Hasn't it always been, remaining in any one position (standing or sitting) for extended periods of time is damaging? Which probably makes standing slightly better as you're more likely to shift position more frequently. I assume the best thing to do is move regularly and frequently.

This is my view on the topic as someone who suffers from ciatic pain. Quick intro: I am 21 years old, in great shape, I do martial arts, exercise and have good stretching capabilities. However, from working and studying seated, I ended up hurting my lower back. As the video says, changing positions is the key to success. I found out that for me, the best is to alternate positions, hang from a pull up bar from time to time, sit on a deep squat position and walk. Also, strengthening the lower back and core is incredibly important, as well as stretching. However, do not do these excessively because you can end up injuring yourself, just like it happens with exercise. Take these exercises of strengthening and stretching as a daily activity and you will see great progress.

this is exactly why I work while laying down

Loved this video, thank you! I alternate sitting and standing every hour and when I stand up I make sure to move around

I am a fit and trim person. When I compare standing and sitting for the same duration (eg. 2 hours) I definitely have less stiffness / soreness and no back pain from standing. I have converted my home office to a flexible configuration that is biased towards standing, but allows me to sit as well when I feel like it. So much better now. I’ll take your tips on board, but I can’t see myself willingly going back to a sitting-only arrangement.

This nicely reframed the issue. It's not about sitting or standing, it's about staying mobile and not being stuck in one position ALL DAY LONG. ✌️&❤️

Surprised that there's no mention of the increased risk of varicose veins & osteoarthritis with prolonged standing

My way is the best. Have a sitting desk, spin in your chair often and stand up and walk around when you get the chance.

Love the video and look forward to watching the follow-up. This has been sitting in my queue for a while and I'm glad I finally got to it. I had a thought while watching the video: "Ride a bike to work or the store... get run over. Take public transportation... never get to work or to the store because it doesn't go there or go past my neighborhoood much less my house." I learned in an urban planning course that this is the experience of most US Citizens because of the way we have planned our cities... no... not the major cities, I'm talking about the suburbs outside of the top 25 largest metropolitan statistical areas. We have unwittingly designed designed most towns and cities to work against having a healthy lifestyle. There is also a strong correlation between people who are obese or who have unhealthy lifestyles, and the designed-to-live-an-unhealthy-lifestyle towns/cities. This drives up healthcare demand and healthcare costs. And it drives up healthcare demand and costs in the least wealthy parts of the country. The conclusion I came to was that we have quite literally created what is called a self-perpetuating dooming cycle. Me personally, I'm working to change that. There is a societal factor here that needs to be addressed. I hope this will help others see it clearly. For me, I had this "sense" that there was something there, some invisible hand I was fighting against, but I didn't have a way to see it in order to define it. It wasn't a conspiracy. It wasn't any one person or company or anything. It was a chain of decisions and technological inventions with unintentional consequences that couldn't be seen.

This is such a solid review of the lit and wicked helpful action items. Thanks for your work on this!

I'm so, so impressed by your video. I am finishing my PhD (*qualitative), but your quantitative data (simply put) was excellent--showing how strong or weak the research was. Your review was fairly comprehensive and mentioning confounders was important. You only alluded briefly to treadmill desks. I'm guessing there little to no research on that. Great job

I love people who accentuate the difference between causation and correlation, because most youtube channels completely disregard it out of convenience. That' a sub from me!

Great vid - new sub. I'm going with my gut on this one. I work a desk job and sitting for hours every day has flattened my butt, jacked up my hip flexors, and jacked up my left shoulder with typing-related strain. When I went to a standing setup to experiment with the benefits, it fixed my hip flexors, helped get my butt in shape as I could do little bouts of leg lifts, and I felt 'on my game' more on business calls mentally - oh, and my posture improved and alleviated the shoulder/neck strain from typing. Going to keep the standing setup and just sit on occasion to rest my legs as needed.

It`s good to make a decision based in information/researchs we have at the moment. Thanks for the well done vídeo.

Holy crap. I actually found an objective, data and research based answer to this question. I am just getting over a flare up of back pain and I have the opportunity of using an adjustable height desk but I know from my wife (who has to stand all day in her job) that standing desks are not the panacea that the office furniture industry would have you believe. Subbed.

The Goldilocks Zone direction you took with this issue also had me thinking about occupations where you have to be standing for hours on end. Specifically entry-level jobs like retail/fast food/factory/line-work/etc. since it's often STRONGLY discouraged by employers and even customers to take breaks and sit down every so often. Especially in regard to jobs that require you to be in one place for most/all of your shift - like cashiers. And I hear stories of folks who have worked for years in these positions, later have marked orthopedic problems with knees/feet/etc. due to not moving enough = locking up. Regular movement sounds to be the most reasonable and healthy approach.

For over 6 years now I have been using a non adjustable standing desk. If I really need to sit while working I could pull up a stool. At first I did that, and it was always tempted to use the stool... It was a distraction. So I got rid of the stool altogether and couldn't be happier. With no choice but to stand you stop thinking about it after a couple days. Every hour or two I may take a break on the couch for a few mins. Plus sit for lunch. I take breaks for my head and mind, not necessarily from being tired from standing. I find this has been great for me so far. I find when I stand I rarely stand perfectly still... I do sway, stretch, fidget my legs as I work at the desk. My standing muscles are jacked!!

WoW, this video is really grate on the scientific method point: searching for studies and concluding: "hey we don’t have enough data by we need to make a decision". I loved it

I greatly appreciate that the approach to the topic is more in line with the spirit of the scientific method, rather than giving a quick and easy answers as many other videos tend to give. Sometimes the right attitude and mindset is more important than clear cut answers - especially in science. A maybe or dunno might be annoying, but it's better than a clear cut yes/no answer that might be wrong. And I appreciate that rather than offering just a shrug at the end, you offer options that do help with improving health. * subscribes * 💜💛💚💗 science 💗💚💛💜

When I was in grade 9, I went for a parent-teacher meeting with my mom and I was shaking my leg as I commonly do. My mom told me to stop and my teacher told her that it's actually great that I do that, that encouraging movement, no matter how small is healthy. I took that to heart and will never forget that. I have ADHD so I tend to move around constantly while I'm sitting, and I am happy that I do! Now to get myself to be consistent with actual exercise, that would be great.

This was a really great video. Clear and concise and it had a lot of data and research to back it up

I’ve been using a standing desk for about 7 years. The lessons I’ve learned: Neither position is great for a long time; consequently, you need to shift every hour or so. Sometimes, if my feet are sore, I’ll only stand for 20 mins, and then sit back down for a half hour to an hour. Good footwear is a non-negotiable. I keep an actual hourglass on my desk that I will flip sometimes, to remind me to switch positions. Standing, for certain tasks, can be EXCELLENT and result in more productivity. I have to sway my body, dance, or hold different poses when standing, so I don’t become stiff. Standing desks are a god-send if you have back and arm pain. The naturally erect position can help A LOT, not to mention the fact that you can dial in the perfect height to get your arms at the perfect angle to type. Having a good chair is important too. I actually alternate between two chairs when I’m sitting: one is a regular chair with a back for when I’m tired, but another is a balance ball that’s on a wheel base. This is my primary chair and I love the thing dearly. It engages my core and keeps me upright, and my motions fluid when I am sitting. It is not the same as being slumped in a chair. Last lesson: the expensive motorized desks are ABSOLUTELY worth the $$ if you can afford it. I started out with a hand-cranked model, and I was much less inclined to switch positions because of the effort it took. 5 years ago I switched to a fancy L desk that cost over $1,000. It was WORTH EVERY PENNY. It is SO easy to switch positions, so I’m much more likely to do it. It’s also great having a whole desk/table top that goes up and down, rather than just a small table-top unit. I had one of those for 2 years and it was very restricting because I had no space except for my keyboard and mouse. -- NB: you can over do it with the standing. A friend of mine got her first standing desk this year, and loved it so much she NEVER sat down for weeks. Then she developed plantar fasciitis 😵‍💫. All things in moderation.

I have waited for this video since I saw you studying for Step 3 while standing. Thank you ❤️

God bless you, sir, for doing such a researched video. As a grad student in sociology research, nothing makes me happier than "they did not include control variables"

Good advise. I do the same. Work standing up, move around, listen to music and dance. Also I take short brakes to exercise. This works for me and I am productive and don’t have back problems.

I love my standing desk - I always stand for conference/video calls, I find I am a lot more energetic and alert when stood up. Additionally I have a chair and a stool and vary the positions depending on what I am doing. I think desk bikes are the way to go rather than treadmill desks.

Thank you for making this video. I'm 77 years old and have gone from being an active equestrian to a sitting blogger in the past few years. I sit way too many hours every day. I've added silver sneakers (old guys) gym workouts, but three a week isn't enough. I was about to buy a standup desk, however your video has convinced me that isn't necessary. I am planning on a routine of three minutes of exercise following twenty minutes of sitting at my computer desk. You just saved me $250.00.

Thanks! At first my standing desk absolutely changed my life for the better. I had much less low back pain, more energy, and a better mood at work. I also started standing most of the time at home as well as work. Unfortunately after a year I started to get a lot of pain at the back of my knees. I am hyper mobile and also a yoga teacher so I am stretching a lot. I realized when I stand my legs are hyperextended, and I seemed to have pulled the muscles around the back of my knees. This has been slow to heal. I really miss my standing desk and wished I had of mixed sitting/standing more all year before this problem became severe. I hope to go back to a standing desk but will definitely take more sitting breaks in the future.

If I were to move or take any kind of pause following the 20 min rule I would barely get anything done. Deep focus is hard to achieve these days with all the bs out there, so if you can stay focused for at least an hour just be happy with that imo and disregard the 20 min rule. Just make sure you exercise regularly and you'll be fine on the long run.

Wow! Insightful, informative, and well-throughout. Thanks 🙏

I'm not convinced that we evolved to stand for long periods. Traditional cultures don't stand all day - they are usually walking or squatting or lying down. My intuition is that the most practical answer for most is to move every 20-30 minutes. This fits in well with the Pomodoro approach to productivity, where you work in targeted bursts with breaks every half hour. It also fits well with Pavel's Greasing the Groove approach to training, where you do regular bursts of a selection of exercises throughout the day to about 50% of your max reps. I set up basic equipment like kettlebells, resistance bands and a pullup bar by my desk, and every 30 minutes I'll do a set of one or two movements, or take a quick walk, or do a stretch or two. My gut feel is that this regime would be at least as good as a standing desk. Treadmill desks may offer something more, but are expensive and take up a lot of space - they simply won't be viable for most, including myself. I'd be surprised if the episodic movement regime outlined above was significantly less effective than using a fancy desk, and it's certainly more practical for most. In the absence of any strong evidence for a standing desk, I don't plan to change.

Definitely more clear. As a software engineer, I am the holy definition of a sedentary lifestyle and I myself use the "Pomodoro Technique" for the frequent reminders to get up and walk around the house. IMO, it's the perfect balance of walking 🚶 & sitting on my chair, that works the best for me or anybody worried about the back pain and other issues. Thanks a lot, Doc. ✌️

Great advice overall and especially about biking! If it's too far, consider an electric bike or an electric cargo bike to carry groceries, or kids etc, there are multiple ways to stay dry and every ride with remind you how human you are! For long working hours either sitting or standing, set up your clock every 20 mns or and move around and/or dance for a few mns (find what you like online) or do your work routine or some of it, anything will do as long as you like it.

Wonderful advice. Your video helps people well. I will have to follow this in the office as well. I am doing 16000 min steps every day.

This was actually a good video; concise, clear, and informative.

I LOVED THE VIDEO IN THE "SITTING" INFORMATION. THANK YOU

Interesting research! Thank you for your hard work! 🌷

The best is getting an electric standing desk so you can switch between sitting and standing regularly. That has the best effect both physically and mentally. Plus, when you're standing it's much easier to stretch and move around.

My main reason for going for standing desks is for better back health / posture. It does help a lot with my back and neck issues. It does allow me to pace around and move easier, but yeah i would agree that a standing desk alone is not enough to replace getting actual exercise.

I'm gonna buy a standing desk and this video didn't change my mind.

Great video. Exactly what I was looking for!

Damn! Finally an unbiased channel and very helpful! Good job!

First time seeing your videos. I love how you don't go for easy answers, actually read the papers. Too often poorly executed experiments or inconclusive papers are used to argument by authority. [edit: subscribed.]

Less confused. I´ll keep sit and doing my exercises all day long. Thank you!

07:20 - my trick for this is to have an empty glass on my desk. By having it on my desk, it is a reminder for me to drink, and when I want to drink it makes me walk to the tap, giving a ~20 second walking break regularly.

I always considered the idea of the standing desk mostly as a way to improve posture and lower-back health. It may sound strange, but it's important that people actually learn how to stand properly. In our sedentary society, we have forgotten how. Many people who have been sitting at desks for years on end tend to have very weak abdominals and anterior pelvic tilt as a result. Studies have looked at tribespeople in the Amazon and noted how they stand, they effectively screw their feet into the ground slightly, tightening the buttocks, and switching on the abdominals. This levels the pelvis and locks down the lumbar spine. Having a bad back is almost unheard of, and similarly for countries where it is common practice to carry heavy loads on the head. Perfect postural alignment is necessary for this, and the whole core is maintained balanced and strong. There are a number of youtube videos worth watching regarding posture, with simple tips on how to sit and stand properly to prevent issues.

When I waited tables I was on my feet way more than with my standing desk. I didn't feel any pain in my feet or legs or anything. The key is to stay moving. Great video.

I needed this video so hard. Thank you!

I agree with the suggestions and I would add that in my experience standing desk is the best option to remind me to take a break and move or even just sit, more often as my legs will get tired quicker than my eyes. While, if I sit, I won't get to the point where I feel the urge to move so often.

These studies are too simplistic. The number of variables between a stock trader and a construction worker are countless. On the job stress levels, stress that doesn't stop after work, likelihood of eating an expensive unhealthy restaurant lunch vs a brown bagged simple healthy lunch, odds of working a straight 40 hour week vs 50+ hour week, getting hours of real exercise doing your work vs not, etc, etc. My guess is the factors above are far more important than simply standing vs sitting.

Solution: Reduce the work week to 5 hours per day, 4 days per week. The evidence that we are only productive for that amount of time is overwhelming. The M-F/9-5 work week is merely a cultural norm and has no relation to how we actually get things done. It is not only killing us, it isn't making us any more productive (busy is not productive). With that extra time we will be able to improve our lives, be more active and relaxed. And for you about to scream about money; just increase the salary per hour. This can be done, 2 generations ago, a M-Sat/8-7 work week was the norm; but through workers' uniting and fighting for life over work, the work week was reduced to what we have today...it is time to continue that fight.

Really good vid. Informative and lovd the patreon benefit

Standing desk is for my spine a lifesaver. But not by standing but by allowing me to change position during the work. I can sit on my big a** but also I can lift the desk and stand. It's outstanding and does the job for me but the best days are ones that I can, do after my IT work, work physically (in my locksmith workshop - my hobby) Then my spine smiles. Unfortunately, I do not have many opportunities to exercise and I have to choose between hobbies and exercises - the happy fact is that my hobby requires a lot of movement and lifting so it's for me a kind of exercise. Your film is putting much light on this. Thank you.

The clickbait title is annoying, but really like that you show where you got your sources from, even directly quoting them.

I work in IT, so I would LOVE a standing desk whenever I'm on those really long conference calls. They are among those situations where you can't really leave your desk so easily so standing desks would at least give me the option to pace up and down...

I love how all the ads I am getting now are standing desk ads. And all of my recommended videos are on standing desks. You do a few standing desk Google searches and look at a few websites and RU-vid tries to make it your life.

I don't have a problem between sitting and standing because I just place my Adjustable Height Desk over the table I am sitting at and work with my laptop. Before I used to look and look for a standing desk but it is too expensive. Thank God, I found an inexpensive adjustable desk online that could be easily placed and adjusted over my large working table. Thank you so much for this video; it enlightened me about sitting and standing while I work with my laptop. God bless you.

My favorite of the actionable tips is that motivation won’t last but a system will last. So many people wait for motivation, stay responsible for a week, and then fall off the wagon and wonder why. Systems control for the influence of fluctuating motivation!

REM was way ahead of everyone... “Stand in the place where you work...”

Thanks for the Video it helped clear up some misinformation. I am going to hold off on purchasing a standing desk for now.

Excellent video, well done. No talking points, just data.

I've used an electric standing desk and I think they're great - it's an investment but it makes the day much better - stand for a while, lower the desk and sit for a while. And, you can get a stool and sit with your weight mostly on your feet - which is like sitting on an exercise ball, very good for your posture. It's always going to be about moving, but if you can sit with your back straight it actually makes a huge difference to the impact of your time sitting.

Mean while at school you sit for like 7 hours a day

Nice quality research. Nice answers. Keep on!

I'm using a walkingpad so I walk 2-8 km per day while doing my work. I do that for almost 2 weeks now and can really recommend. It makes me feel way better.

Great analysis...this never came in my mind..i was blindly going to follow standing desk theory...was going to buy standing desk...now instead...i will do exercise....

I had no idea what Standard glycemic variation meant before this video xD Thanks for sharing the knowledge !

I am now suffering from open wounds on my feet and lower limbs out of sitting 9/16 hours long daily at the computer from Dec. 22, 2010 until June 11, 2017 when my feet were already bugging me with excruciating, shooting or lightning pains that I wanted to die if only possible, because the pain was now unbearable and indescribable. Thanks for this video. I understand more of my own fault now. God bless zou.

I agree with your points. I am one that likes to constantly move and standing at my new desk gives me more of that ability. I do feel that it's healthier for me fidget with my legs and posture than only standing perfectly straight and still for a long while.

I just think it's nice to have the option of either standing or sitting. I'd say that on a given day I probably stand and sit an equal amount of time. Porque no los dos?

Thank you for making such amazing (and necessary) videos. We appreciate all of the research you put in 😁🙏

hey, this explained every well. keep up the good work