Standing Desk

Practical strategies to optimize metabolic health

Stevenson and Spector share practical strategies for optimizing metabolism, including food choices, exercise timing, and lifestyle modifications that have the biggest impact on metabolic rate.

"Practical optimization strategies"

Historical figures who used standing workstations

Ben Greenfield traces the history of standing desks from Leonardo da Vinci and Thomas Jefferson to Winston Churchill and Abraham Lincoln, noting that many famous authors also used dictation to stay mobile while writing.

"we've had a few episodes about staying healthy at work, staying fit at work, using things like standing desks and treadmill workstations. And this week, I began to delve into the list of historical figures who have used things like standing workstations. And it really is kind of a veritable who's who. Everyone from Leonardo da Vinci to Thomas Jefferson to Charles Dickens to Winston Churchill to Abraham Lincoln, all of these folks used standing workstations."

Overcoming RSI with standing desks and dictation

Author Joanna Penn describes how repetitive strain injury from 20 years of keyboard work drove her to adopt standing desks and voice dictation, eliminating hours of daily typing to preserve long-term career health.

"after 20 years of essentially using your arms in, let's face it, evolutionarily wise, not a very natural position, I started to get real pain. So I tried lots of things. We can come back to things like a Swiss ball and the standing desk."

Low-level activity at a standing desk reduces workout needs

Ben explains that standing and walking during the workday builds endurance and burns calories, meaning you can get away with shorter, more intense workout sessions at the end of the day.

"even for me, as a guy who has been a vocal proponent of things like standing desks and treadmill workstations, etc., it's really been a two-year process for me personally to get to the point where I can really truly be productive while walking four to six miles a day on my treadmill or spending lots of time standing."

Sitting 11+ hours daily raises mortality risk by 40%

Ben Greenfield cites research showing that sitting more than 11 hours a day increases mortality risk by 40%, and explains how standing upregulates lipoprotein lipase to improve fat metabolism.

"we know that people who sit more than 11 hours a day have a 40% higher risk of dying. People who sit, no matter whether or not they're exercising after work, people who sit for more than two hours in a row have higher risk of chronic disease. When you're standing, you upregulate this cool enzyme called lipoprotein lipase that can help you do things like break down fat and have a higher metabolism."

DIY standing desk options under $100

Ben and co-host Brock share their budget standing desk setups — Ben uses an old cupboard, Brock built one from an IKEA tabletop with adjustable legs for under $100.

"Mine's not fancy, but it's only a tiny step above what Ben's got. Mine's just a table with extra long legs, and I just bought it at Ikea. I just got a tabletop and some long legs that are adjustable so I can make it the right height, but that's all."

Creative standing workstation ideas and product picks

Ben reviews a range of standing workstation options from creative DIY builds (bookshelves, wall-mounted planks) to electric sit-to-stand desks from UpDesk, GeekDesk, and the budget-friendly Kangaroo Pro Junior converter at $250.

"It cost me less than $100. And, yeah, you don't have to get fancy on this at all. And not to kick a horse to death because I think this has been talked about in the media quite a bit, but we know that people who sit more than 11 hours a day have a 40% higher risk of dying. People who sit, no matter whether or not they're exercising after work, people who sit for more than two hours in a row have higher risk of chronic disease. When you're standing, you upregulate this cool enzyme called lipoprotein lipase that can help you do things like break down fat and have a higher metabolism. You can also engage a lot of these tiny little core muscles that help to maintain body tone and and foot strength and leg strength and you know it's one of the reasons why if you're standing six eight hours a day at work and say you're training for a marathon or triathlon you get away with less training because you're really making your legs stronger while you're standing there at work you can as he swears by it there you go yeah and of course you do have greater risk of things like varicose veins, potential issues with your knees if you're standing improperly, that type of thing. But all of that can be fixed with things like wearing compression socks or compression tights or ensuring that you're using good posture when you stand. And that was know, that was something I demonstrated at the superhuman event was, you know, good versus bad posture when you're standing. And, you know, you definitely want more of kind of like a military-esque posture with your knees slightly bent, your butt and your core engaged, deep breathing, and then you want the actual workstation itself set up so that, you know, your table height or your workstation height is at or slightly below your elbow height, so you're able to stand up straight as you're working. Now, as far as the way you can go about putting kind of a standing workstation together, first of all, I'm going to link in the show notes to a great little article over at Brit.co. And at Brit.co slash standing desks, they have 10 examples of really kind of cool, creative standing workstations. For example, there's one that's basically like, it's almost like the keyboards on a bar stool on like a fancy bar stool. And then the monitor itself is just one of these flat screen TVs that's attached to the wall, right? So it's super minimalist, kind of cool. I'll put a link to these if people want to look at them. Add them to your Pinterest or whatever crazy weird things you want to do. Another one is you just get a bookshelf and you um you on whatever shelf of that bookshelf happens to be your ideal standing height that's where you have everything set up is on that bookshelf um another example that they have there is basically like taking an old like cupboard shelf or just like plank of wood and tacking that onto the wall at your ideal height and literally just like doing that. And that's another easy way you can do things. Now, there are companies out there. Updesk is a really good one. Updesk makes a desk that goes up and down on basically like a hydraulic motor. Yeah, like hydraulics. And that's one example of one where you can easily and quickly convert it from seated to standing. So updesk.com would be another one to look at. There's another one called Elevate Adjust that's made by a company called Anthro, and that one will also go up and down. New Heights makes one called the electric sit to stand desk and it's got a push button height adjustment on it uh then geek desk geek desks make makes one too that that will go up and down uh when when you click on and these are more expensive you know these are i think like 500 600 desks so get those if your employer is paying for it. Yeah, exactly. Probably the best one out there, and I'll put a link to this in the show notes, what I think is the coolest one is called the Kangaroo Pro Junior because it's not that expensive. Because it jumps around the room while you're trying to work on it and you have to chase it. And it has a little pouch that you put your keyboard into. That's $250, and it goes up and down. It's an easy, easy way to convert a regular desk into a standing workstation. It's got this adjustable steel rod on it. It's nice and sturdy. It's got a nice little shelf for you to put your keyboard on. And, yeah, it's a pretty cool one.. So the Kangaroo Pro Junior is, in my opinion, a pretty good way to go. And then, of course, you've also got the option for a Trek desk or a treadmill desk. And I was listening. I think you shot me the link. Was it you, Brock? You shot me the link to the Talk of the Nation, the NPRs. I think it was on Science Friday. Oh, yeah, probably. I think you shot it. Or maybe it was the eating insects one. You always send me those weird links. Oh, yeah, I definitely send you the eating insects one. That's awesome. How we could replace all of our food problems by eating insects. Boost your metabolism. Sedgway, unless fried grasshoppers while you're standing and walking and working, is your cup of tea. But, yeah, treadmill desks, like the Trek desk, that's another way to go. And that's the next modification I'm making in my office is an actual treadmill desk so I can walk while I'm working and riding and all that jazz."

Sitting versus standing is not the real issue

Starrett argues the debate should not be sitting vs standing but rather about movement frequency, noting that switching from sitting to perching burns 170,000 calories a year while standing all day is also problematic.

"Switch from sitting to perching, being more active. So 170,000 calories a year. If I choose not to sit, just in choosing not to sit in a traditional chair, 170,000 calories of ice cream, beer, whiskey, whatever it is you give a shit about, convert that amount and that's free money."

Sitting is linked to heart disease, diabetes, and dead butt syndrome

NYT Well Desk editor Mollie Mirhisham explains that prolonged sitting is linked to heart disease, diabetes, and musculoskeletal problems, and that experts recommend standing or moving every 30 minutes.

"It is not as bad as smoking, but it is true that sitting for long periods of time is pretty bad for your health. It's been linked to an increased risk for various health problems like heart disease and diabetes. And then also just as anybody who's sat all day at a desk knows, it's just really tough on your muscles and joints."

Exercise doesn't cancel out prolonged sitting

The health effects of uninterrupted sitting are distinct from not getting enough exercise — even people who work out regularly need movement breaks throughout the day.

"the health effects of sitting for long periods of time are kind of a distinct thing from not getting enough exercise. It's not just the total amount that you're moving, but just on its own, sitting uninterrupted for a long period of time has all these other negative health effects."

What makes a good standing desk

Wirecutter's Ariana Vasquez explains that a good standing desk should have programmable height presets and a fast motor to minimize friction between sitting and standing positions.

"a good standing desk ideally is something where you can kind of program it so that it can have a fixed height for when you're standing and a fixed height for when you're sitting because you really want to remove as much friction between movement as possible."

Budget standing desk alternatives

You don't need to spend $600 on a standing desk — a kitchen countertop, ironing board, or stack of books can raise your laptop to standing height. Standing desk converters like the FlexiSpot Alcove sit on top of existing desks.

"The cheapest option is like a kitchen countertop or an ironing board or even just like stacking some books on a table just to kind of raise your laptop up so you can stand in. Because really the goal is to just stand for a little bit in the midst of your workday so you're not sitting all day."