Name: The TRUTH About STANDING DESKS
Uploaded: 2020-09-16T19:31:08.000Z
Duration: 9 min 36 s
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“Are you sitting your way straight to the grave?”

If you believe what the media is telling you, you'll never want to sit again.

But what does the science have to say about sitting vs standing desks?

What's going on guys, Dr. Jubbal, MedSchoolInsiders.com.

I've been using a standing desk now for over 5 years, and when I set out to create

this video, I was expecting to find substantial research to back my decision.

But after reading over two dozen research articles on the subject, I found myself surprised,

as the data isn't as clear cut as some would have you believe.

So what does the data have to say about sitting, and are standing desks really the best option

First, it's important to understand the arguments against sitting and traditional

The fundamental principle is that a sedentary lifestyle and the physiologic changes that

And there's a lot of evidence that physical inactivity is linked to higher morbidity and

mortality, but the question is how does this relate to sitting at our desks, and whether

Mandsager and colleagues demonstrated in 2018 that poor cardiorespiratory fitness, as assessed

on an exercise treadmill test, was strongly correlated with mortality.

In short, if you're in better shape, you're less likely to die.

It is important to note, however, that this study, and many others, are retrospective

studies and therefore by definition, they demonstrate correlation, not causation.

Additionally, it's been noted that the negative effects of sitting aren't reversed by exercise.

Reason being, the metabolic changes and subsequent deleterious effects induced by sitting aren't

Sitting also increases the pressure to your lower back in comparison to standing - ever

notice that your back hurts more when you sit for prolonged periods of time?

So let's talk about the evidence for standing desks. Now if sitting for prolonged periods is bad

for us, it's easy to see how standing desks would seem like a logical solution.

In 2013, Buckley and colleagues demonstrated that standing reduces postprandial glycemic

variability, meaning your blood sugar varies less after eating a meal if you're standing.

This is good, as greater amplitudes of glycemic variability have been linked to circulatory

However, Bailey et al. in 2015 had conflicting data, suggesting that standing did not alter

postprandial glycemic variation, but short bouts of light-intensity activity did.

In 2017, Gibbs and colleagues postulated that decreased caloric expenditure could be a specific mechanism

through which sedentary behavior increases health risks, such as by contributing to an

They also demonstrate that standing expends more energy than sitting - no surprise there.

As a whole, however, the literature regarding the benefits of standing desk is not clear cut.

Katzarzyk in 2013 suggested that increased standing time was correlated to reduced mortality

rates, but Smith and colleagues in 2017 suggested the exact opposite; that occupations involving

primarily standing were associated with a 2-fold increase in heart disease compared

to occupations involving predominantly sitting.

Several other studies I came across in my research emphasized the increases in physical

activity associated with standing desks, reduction of lower back pain, and improvement in cholesterol

However, others suggested that the increased physical activity at a standing desk was offset

by a decrease in physical activity away from the desk.

And while some studies pointed to improvements in psychological wellbeing, creativity, and

no detrimental effects to focus or productivity, others concluded that standing desks were

associated with deterioration in reaction time and mental state.

The data is best summarized by two systematic reviews.

In 2014, Neuhaus and colleagues concluded that “the installation of activity-permissive

workstations in office-based workplaces is likely to be a feasible and acceptable means

to reduce sedentary time, with mostly neutral or positive impacts on adiposity and other

The systematic review by MacEwen and colleagues in 2015 concluded that there wasn't enough

evidence to evaluate the utility of each type of desk, however, treadmill desks demonstrated

the most significant improvements in glucose, cholesterol, and fat loss.

Standing desks had few physiologic changes, but improved psychological wellbeing.

And ultimately, too much standing or sitting would result in discomfort.

The key take away from my deep dive in the literature is that… the literature on standing

The overwhelming majority of the studies were retrospective and did not adequately control

For example, Smith and colleagues demonstrated that people working occupations involving primarily

standing were associated with a 2-fold increase in heart disease.

But without controlling for the types of occupations, socioeconomic variables, and other demographic

factors, that information is close to meaningless.

The data is quite strong though that a sedentary lifestyle is not good for you.

But I'm not convinced that a standing desk is necessarily the solution.

This is a complex problem – people are no longer getting much exercise in their lives

– and we are proposing an incredibly simple solution, hoping it's an easy fix.

Unfortunately, even with the scientific method we don't get clear cut answers, and we must

make decisions with imperfect information.

I'd argue that isn't the right question to ask.

In 2018, Caldwell and colleagues even demonstrated that prolonged standing resulted in measurable

increases in arterial stiffness. That's not good.

It seems, then, that any form of inactivity, whether standing or seated, results in negative

Instead of focusing on standing or sitting at our desks, it appears that the most important

principle is to *move regularly* – some have suggested every 20 minutes as a good

Our bodies are designed to move - we aren't designed to sit still.

So even if you're using a standing desk, you don't want to stay immobile all day.

You should be shifting, walking, moving, stretching, doing yoga poses, and switching between sitting

But because this is Med School Insiders, I don't want to leave you hanging.

First, Stay Hydrated One of my favorite methods to induce movement

It has the benefit of, well, keeping me well hydrated, but also the side benefit of prompting