By Rachael Little, Yoga Teacher to Premier League Staff
Like most office workers, I have been aware of sit/stand desks for a few years. My 2 different roles over the last 5 years have afforded me the fortunate circumstances that I have always been moving around, rarely sitting for longer than half an hour. I have also practised yoga for many years and now teach office workers the practice, so am a huge advocate of how essential and beneficial movement is.
However, because of the new world we all find ourselves living in currently, I have been working from home for the last 7 months. I very soon realised that the make-shift office at home, using a dining table, or, worse, a laptop on lap, can very quickly bring about poor desk/working posture. Anything from general stiffness to chronic body pain associated with sitting during the day can very easily be mitigated with a sit/stand desk.
Standing desks can also help add to your fitness abilities over time, bringing awareness to your posture, keeping you more energized and focused throughout the entire workday. And you don't even need to be standing continuously from 9 to 5 — in fact, according to studies, the best strategy for good posture and remaining pain-free is frequently transitioning between standing and sitting throughout your day, sitting for no longer than 20-30 minutes at a time.
An increase in even low-level activity provides health benefits compared to sitting for a prolonged time in a fixed position. I certainly found when trialling the Quickstand desk that my focus and productivity improved throughout the day, compared to just sitting. And by getting into a pattern of going from sitting to standing, I implemented a mini-break where I would have a few moments of stretching and moving, even just for 20 seconds.
As a yoga teacher, I cannot stress the benefits of this enough, as it creates myofascial release, thereby alleviating any stiffness and combatting the onset of pain associated with bad posture from sitting for long periods. The mini stretching break was 100% something I could form a habit of doing every time I transitioned from my sitting to standing working position.
I would recommend the Humanscale QuickStand Eco especially because of its sturdiness, ease of use, and that the desk surface area enabled me to keep my work area exactly the same whenever I moved the position of the desk. The desk can also be moved to various heights with meant I could keep the laptop on the stand whether I am working, or participating in a Zoom call.
Because of the weight of the unit, I would recommend the unit remaining in a dedicated space, as it is heavy and bulky to move. But the weight of it does provide the benefit of ensuring that it feels very secure and sturdy.
I am very grateful for being able to trial such a great product and would recommend it to anyone who needs to be at their desk for hours during the day, be it at home or in the office (whenever we can get back there!)
If you would like some more information on Quickstand Eco or how we can help to address and improve your wellbeing at home or in the office, please do email us at wellbeing@obolife.com