Standing desks are increasingly popular among office workers – is it time you got one? And why?

According to World Health Organization statistics, one in four adults fail to get enough physical activity. It estimates that up to five MILLION deaths a year could be averted if the global population was more active.

On a micro level, every one of us can improve our health by increasing everyday activity levels. The workplace is an obvious place to start given that many of us spend eight hours a day at our desks.

The simple act of using a standing desk and switching between a seated and standing position regularly is a simple way to increase your activity levels, improve your health and boost your performance.

In Scandinavia, standing desks are the norm, with employers required to provide an adjustable sit-stand desk for every worker. There’s a reason for that, with increasing amounts of scientific evidence showing that active working makes you healthier and more productive.

Using a standing desk brings multiple physical and mental health benefits as well as productivity gains. Research proves that mixing up your work style between seated and standing positions will keep your metabolism active, increase your calorie burn and engage key muscle groups.

• Increase blood circulation
  Your blood circulation will improve and blood pressure reduce, delivering benefits to your mind and body by helping keep you alert and productive. Shifting regularly between a sitting and standing position will help open up your diaphragm too, contributing to better, deeper breathing and increased oxygen flow to your brain and other vital organs.
• Boost your metabolism
  Standing up encourages movement and fidgeting. Both are important to activate key muscle groups, aid blood flow and maintain a healthy metabolic rate, as well as increasing your calorie burn. Furthermore, important enzymes which transfer bad cholesterol out of your arteries function much more effectively when you stand
• Engage key muscle groups
  Standing is of course also a weightbearing exercise, important for helping improve bone density, especially for older workers. It will also help improve your posture by preventing the shoulder slump that causes back and neck pain.
• Improve performance
  When you stand you are more confident and collaborative. Oxygen flows more easily to your head, boosting endorphins. So when you need to complete an important phone call or conclude a difficult discussion you will be much more effective doing it from a standing position. Certain tasks are done faster when standing: simple tasks, such as going through your inbox or ‘to do’ list can be dispensed with more efficiently when you switch your desk to standing mode. Standing desk users also report improved creativity, collaboration and better sleep patterns due to increased activity during working hours

For decades, standing desks were sold as ‘disability products’ for people with special ergonomic needs: the only employees lucky enough to get one were those suffering from health problems. At the same time, poor choice, poor service, unenlightened suppliers and high prices were common practice.

Yo-Yo DESK® was established to offer a fresh, simple and more positive approach. We focus exclusively on supplying and educating about active office solutions through a wide range of styles of standing desks and seating solutions, at affordable prices, backed up by expert sales advice. We also provide advice on how to best use our solutions with user guideline info packs supplied to every customer and the option of bespoke Active Working seminars for corporate customers.

Our CEO and Chief Wellness Officer Gavin Bradley explains: “I have devoted the last 5 years to improving office workers’ health, but I will not be fully satisfied until provision of a standing desk becomes a basic work right for office workers everywhere, following the lead of Denmark where it is a legal requirement.

"I am committed to ensuring that our solutions are used to maximum impact. User education increases sit-stand desk usage by a multiple of FOUR times. That’s why we offer Active Working Seminars and user guidelines FREE to ensure best practice and behaviour change become embedded to deliver improved wellness and productivity."