Here are a few common misconceptions of stand up desks and answers to put your mind at ease:

You’ll Hurt Your Back & Legs
There has been recent evidence explaining that standing for long hours can cause varicose veins. Even though you probably don’t wear shorts to the office and your legs aren’t in clear view, varicose veins are a symptom everyone wants to avoid. Yes, standing behind a stand up desk for extremely long hours isn’t ideal. It’s about moving throughout your day to keep extended standing symptoms at bay.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, sitting can cause not only cankles, but a number of unwanted health problems. We mention these on a regular basis, but just to reemphasize: Sitting increases the risk of heart disease in both men and women, increases obesity, diabetes, and completely shuts down your body’s fat burning ability.

The key is to switch between sitting and standing during your day. Once you begin the transition it’ll be tough, and you may notice strain on your back and legs muscles, but your body is simply getting used to change and building resistance. So don’t give up, keep standing and moving!

Eating Lunch is Difficult 
With business moving faster than ever, a lunch break is slowly becoming a thing of the past. More and more employees are seen scarfing down meals in between meetings, on the go, or at their desk. Eating lunch at your desk can be relaxing (although we don’t recommend) if you can sit and take a break for a moment. Sure, eating lunch at a stand up desk is difficult, but who wants to stand at their desk and eat anyway? See your standing desk as an opportunity to take back your lunch break and get out of the office! Or head to the break room, at the very least.

If you don’t have time for either, thankfully Xdesk switches between multiple sitting and standing heights, to accommodate the employee who opts out of their break. Just lower your desk to the seated position and bingo—a make shift dining table.

You’ll Attract Unwanted Attention
As you stand tall above slouching coworkers, you may see eyes begin to wander over to your corner of the office. But don’t see it as negative attention. standing desks are the wave of the future, and you’re just pioneering your office into modern day. You’ve chosen to take a stand against poor health and poor productivity, and you’re doing it with a stylish piece of equipment. You may just be the envy of all your coworkers.

You’ll Stand All Day
Here’s the beauty of owning Xdesk’s standing desks: You don’t have to stand all day. Xdesk has more than 250 positions, to accommodate all shapes and sizes. Even if you have a fixed-height stand up desk you can still incorporate a stool or ergonomic chair to take breaks between standing long hours. Remember, it’s about making small movements throughout your day from sitting to standing for the best results.

Have you faced any of these misconceptions? How have you been persuaded to choose otherwise?

The post Misconceptions Surrounding Stand Up Desks appeared first on Xdesk Blog.

To top things off, we’re proud to say that the Xdesk Terra has been named the best standing desk by numerous reviews, and was featured in several new publications including:

Wired Magazine: Working Tall: The Ultimate Standing Desk Setup

The WireCutter: The Best Standing Desks

Cult of Mac: The Xdesk Terra Standing Desk is Perfect for Health Conscious Apple Fans

Gear Patrol: 12 Guys of Christmas: The Designer

To learn more about Xdesk and see it in action, watch the video below:

The post The Best Standing Desk: A Video appeared first on Xdesk Blog.

Sitting for long periods of time negatively effects your physical health.

Okay, by this point we know that using an ergonomic desk is good for your health. And we know that sitting down for long periods of time can be bad for you. But how bad can a little bit of sitting really be?

Turns out, pretty bad…..

• Sitting down all day is as bad as smoking a pack of cigarettes. Of course these are bad for you in two completely different ways, but researchers found that sitting at a desk for 6-8 hours per day is as bad for your health as smoking a pack of cigarettes a day.

• Sitting down all day makes you more likely to have a heart attack. Scientists at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana analyzed the lifestyles of more than 17,000 men and women over a period of 13 years. At the end of their study, they found that people who sat down for most of the day were 54 percent more likely to die of a heart attack!

• Sitting makes you more likely to get all kinds of diseases. In another study, researchers found that sitting not only increases your chances of contracting weight-related diseases, like diabetes and heart problems—but it also makes you more likely to get cancer. Those who sat and exercised in the study fared a bit better, but even working out regularly was not enough to counteract the hazards of sitting too much. 

• Sitting drops your good cholesterol. After just two hours of sitting down, your body’s production of good cholesterol drops by 20 percent, while the enzymes that break down fat drop by 90 percent– as soon as you sit down!

• Sitting for impacts your metabolic system. “Today, our bodies are breaking down from obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, depression, and the cascade of health ills and everyday malaise that come from what scientists have named, ‘the sitting disease.’” –James Levine, MD, PhD

So what can you do if you have a desk job? Trade your traditional, sitting desk for an ergonomic desk. Offices all over the world, the likes of Google, Men’s Health, and even the FBI are turning to ergonomic desks because standing makes for healthier, happier, and more productive employees. But there are plenty of other benefits to an ergonomic desk or adjustable height desk. Check out our next post about the fun facts on standing.

And check out this nifty tool that will calculate how much of your day you spend sitting. The results might surprise you!

How much of your day do you spend sitting?

The post Ergonomic Desks: Fun Facts on Sitting appeared first on Xdesk Blog.

Learn the proper position for your adjustable height desk to reap the full benefits of standing.

In our last post we went over why Xdesk is the best ergonomic desk on the market today—it is sleek, it moves smoothly, and most importantly (and obviously) this adjustable height desk is, well, adjustable! The Xdesk glides smoothly through 267 positions, perfect for tall people and short, perfect for sitting or standing.

But how do you know what the perfect ergonomic desk height should be? How do you know where to place your keyboard, or the angle your hands and neck should be when typing? First you should listen to your body. Does it feel comfortable to sit down and type all day long with your keyboard on top of your desk? I’m guessing no.

Second, check out this checklist. We’ll tell you how to choose the right ergonomic desk height for your adjustable height desk, whether you’re sitting or standing.

Choosing the right ergonomic desk height is as easy as 1, 2, 3.

1) For sitting: When your adjustable height desk is lowered for sitting, you should feel comfortable. Your feet should be flat on the floor, knees about even with your hips, and your forearms should be about level with the floor when you’re typing. Make sure it is high enough that you’re not craning your neck or banging your knees on the bottom.

2) For standing: Again, your desk should be high enough that you don’t have to crane your neck to see your monitor and your arms should be about parallel to the floor when you’re typing. Oh and just for comfort’s sake, you might want to lay down a rug or a mat if you’re standing on hard floors—your feet will thank you!

3) For typing: Okay, maybe you’re asking yourself, how am I supposed to type with my arms parallel to the floor if my desk needs to be high enough not to crane my neck? Here’s the answer: Don’t put your keyboard on top of your desk!

The best ergonomic desk height allows for good posture and the proper arm/hand position for typing, whether you’re standing or sitting. Forearms should be parallel to the floor and your wrists should be straight or at a slightly downward position. That’s why Xdesk has a 360 degree adjustable keyboard tray. You can move it up, down, and from side to side, so that no matter where you’re sitting or standing your desk will be at the perfect ergonomic desk height.

And if you’re worried about complicated knobs, levers, or clutter with the adjustable keyboard tray, never fear! Just like the rest of the Xdesk, this keyboard tray is clean lines and simplicity. You move it into the position you’d like and with the spring assisted Lift-n-Lock feature, it stays.

So whether you’re short, tall, or somewhere in between, with these three simple steps you have yourself the perfect ergonomic desk height. And best of all, you can readjust it any time, whether you want to stand, sit, or wear a pair of heels. There’s an ergonomic desk height perfect for you.

Questions or comments? Share them below and we’ll get back to you!

The post How Should I Position My Ergonomic Desk? appeared first on Xdesk Blog.