Is standing better than sitting?

This article was originally published in English

Standing desks have been sold as a potential alternative for office workers to curb the adverse effects of prolonged sitting, but To what extent do they really work?

Some claim that standing desks can help you lose weight, lower blood sugar levels, or even improve back pain. However, the science is not as clear as the marketing. According to Kévin Desbrosses, a researcher at France’s National Research and Safety Institute for the Prevention of Accidents and Occupational Illnesses (INRS), it appears that standing has some advantages over sitting.

Some advantages over sitting

“Sedentary behavior has a clear definition: it is any sitting or lying positionwhile awake, prolonged over time and with very low energy expenditure,” he explains to ‘Euronews Health’, and standing does not count.

“For humans, sitting is a resting positionwhile standing is a position in which you are alert,” he explained, adding that, while standing, people expend more energy and have better blood flow “as long as the posture is not prolonged for too long.”

Matthew Ahmadi, a researcher at the University of Sydney (Australia), recently carried outa study on the impact of standing, sitting or immobile posture on cardiovascular health.

“Overall, what we found was that standing was better than sitting. “Although standing was not associated with a higher risk of heart disease, it was not associated with a lower risk of heart disease either,” he told Euronews Health.

“We found that prolonged periods of standing were associated with an increased risk of circulatory conditions such as varicose veins and deep vein thrombosis, because prolonged time in a static position causes blood to accumulate in the lower extremities,” he added. For its part, a study from the University of Turku (Finland) published this month also showed that Prolonged standing at work was associated with higher blood pressure.

Importance of introducing movement throughout the day

Experts agree that the most important measure people can take to counteract the effects of sitting for too long is introduce movement in your routine. “The important thing is not only the total amount of daily time spent (being) sedentary, but also the duration of each period spent sitting,” says Desbrosses, for whom the more time spent sitting, the worse it is for one’s health. .

Desbrosses advocates changing position every 30 minutesfor example using a height-adjustable desk. Could that impact productivity? Desbrosses noted that a 2019 review of scientific literature showed no negative effects on productivity or performance when standing.

Why avoid a sedentary lifestyle?

Research has established that a sedentary lifestyle – sitting for several hours – can have a negative impact on health and can increase the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular diseasesvarious types of cancer and depressionamong other conditions.

“We know very well that spending too much time sitting impacts our endothelial function, which is the capacity of the arteries to expand or not depending on needs. If we sit for too long, our body will be less able to achieve this modulation,” says Alicia Fillon, from the French National Observatory of Physical Activity and Sedentary Lifestyle, mentioning one of the various negative physiological effects. In addition, sitting for a long time can also cause oxidative stresswhich in turn “leads to inflammation,” he explained.

Sitting could weaken muscles and influence blood sugar or blood pressure regulation, according to previous research. “Movement will also have an impact on blood sugar levels because muscle contraction plays the same role as insulin, regulating blood sugar,” he added. Fillon also pointed out that sitting for a long time can affect cognition and, specifically, increase the risk of dementia in the long term.