Standing desks could be bad for your health, new research suggests

CINCINNATI (WKRC/CNN Newsource) – New research suggests that switching to a standing desk might not be the best way to prevent issues caused by prolonged sitting.

Standing desks were born out of the growing interest in decreasing the amount of time that people were sitting down for. Extensive sitting has been connected with some health issues like obesity and cardiovascular diseases.

But new research could imply that standing desks aren’t as great of a solution as initially believed.

The first studies that came out about standing desks were largely positive toward the lifestyle change, but recent multi-year-long research suggests something different.

The study found that sitting for more than 10 hours a day could increase someone’s risk of heart disease or stroke, but it also found that standing doesn’t actually prevent those issues. Instead, standing for prolonged periods of time could actually lead to it’s own circulatory issues.

More specifically, standing for long periods can cause blood to pool in the legs which can lead to issues like varicose veins.

So what is the solution then? The research suggests it’s not the position you’re in that’s the problem, but the lack of movement. Instead of swapping your seated desk for a standing one, it could be more impactful to take short walks throughout the day, or at least move around and stretch your legs (ideally at least once per 30 minutes).

But if you’re committed to staying in one spot for a long time, switching between standing and sitting also could be a good solution, the researchers believe.

Notably the average age of participants in the study was 61 and the results were only based on observations, so it cannot guarantee cause and effect. Nonetheless, the sample size was quite large (over 83,000), which lends credibility to the research.