We’ve been hearing for a while now about the benefits of a standing desk so we decided to try one for ourselves with the Nimble Electric Standing Desk from JP Office Workstations.
The desk is available in a number of sizes and has electronic height adjustment which can take it from as low as 68cm and as high as 1.13m.
Ergonomic standing desks are becoming very popular in workplaces after the dangers of sitting for extended periods was exposed.
We do spend a lot of time seated and not only at our desks but also on public transport and in our cars. So that adds up to a long time sitting down.
Health experts will tell you sitting for prolonged periods can increase the risks of cardiovascular disease, muscular disorders, chronic back and neck pain, give you a higher concentration of sugar in your blood and even contribute to weight gain.
And according to the Baker IDI Hearts and Diabetes Institute, these risks are just as apparent whether you exercise regularly or not.
So, with all that in mind we decided to give it a try.
The Nimble electric standing desk has a small control pad on the right edge which allows you to electronically adjust the height of the desk. There is also a small digital display to tell you the desk’s current height.
And if you’re sharing this workstation, you can store your preferred height setting in one of the four memories.
What we did was store our seated position and our preferred standing position.
The Nimble electric standing desk has a white powder coat finish and sturdy metal legs.
The desk we tried was 1200 mm x 600 mm but it does come in five other sizes all the way up to 1800 mm x 750 mm and can support up to 100kg.
The electronics and cables are neatly hidden under the desktop and the power cable was long enough to reach to our power point.
Readers of Tech Guide will know exactly how much writing we do every single day and until now all that was done while we were sitting down.
We’ve had the Nimble electric standing desk for a couple of weeks now and we’re now spending at least half of our writing time on our feet.
We eased into the standing desk with an hour or two per day but now we probably spend an equal amount of time sitting and standing.
The first thing we noticed was our increased focus while we were standing.
Sitting is a relaxing position and psychologically it is easy to be distracted and lose concentration.
We never had that problem while we were standing up and found we powered through the work noticeably faster.
You can fall asleep while you’re sitting down. This won’t be an issue with the Nimble electric standing desk.
Productivity definitely increased while we were standing.
The other benefit of standing is an improved posture. It is easy to slump while you’re in a seated position and this could lead to problems down the track.
From my old football days, I’ve had lower back and neck pain on and off over the years.
But after standing for a time we noticed less back and neck pain.
Now we’ve heard using a standing desk will really burn the calories.
If that’s your main reason for making the switch then you will be disappointed. You’d be better off going for a run.
It might lower your risk of weight gain but don’t for a minute think the kilos are going to drop off just because you’re standing up for a change.
But that’s not to say the standing desk won’t have long-term health benefits. It will improve your posture and improve blood flow.
One thing that did surprise us was our energy levels, even after standing for several hours throughout the day.
Believe it or not, it can be tiring sitting down for hours on end and we found we were less fatigued at the end of the day.
We used our laptop to write while using the Nimble standing desk so there was never an issue of tangled cables.
But this is something to consider if you are placing a desktop computer, a monitor and other devices on a height adjustable desk.
Be sure there’s enough slack in the cables for it to handle going up to full height and down again.
When it comes to standing desks, we are now converts.
The Nimble electric standing desks start from $785 and are available from JP Office Workstations. They also come with a 12-year warranty.
www.jpofficeworkstations.com.au
