Did you know there are Working Desks that can cure depression? - Purpleark

Did you know there are Working Desks that can cure depression?

Many of us are left with weeks of gray skies, chilly weather, and the dreaded depression as winter sets in. Winter can often feel endless after the holiday cheer fades, and most of us can find it difficult to battle depression effectively on a daily basis.

According to Psychology Today, approximately 10 million people suffer from a diagnosable condition known as depression. Many more experience a milder form of seasonal depression, commonly referred to as the “winter blues" and others a more serious state of it.

Symptoms of depression in all forms can include low energy, loss of interest in things you typically enjoy, and difficulty concentrating. Each one of these symptoms is a sure-fire productivity killer that can directly affect your performance at work, which are mostly deprived of sit stand desks.

Keep Moving to be in good health

Studies show that sitting does nothing good for your mental health, excessive sitting is extremely detrimental to your physical health. Your brain depends on strong blood flow, good oxygenation, and optimal glucose metabolism to work properly just like the rest of your body.

Your skeletal muscle fibers aren't contracting, particularly the large muscles of your lower limbs when you sit on a normal workstation rather than a sit stand workstation. As a result, they require less fuel, and the surplus glucose accumulates in your bloodstream and contributes to obesity, diabetes, and other health problems. It is important to note that women who sit for more than seven hours a day have a 47 percent higher risk of depression than women who sit for four hours or less.

a boy working on sit stand desk by different postures

Psychological effects of Sitting - How Sitting is interlinked to Depression

What people tend to do while in their chairs is deeply linked to some of the psychological effects of sitting. Rather than connecting emotionally with others, they may stare at an electronic screen. Rather than engaging intellectually with the world, they may watch mindless TV shows. Flitting between work emails, personal texts, social media, and the Internet, they may multitask ceaselessly. All this rather than honing their attention.

It simulates a low-gravity environment when you sit for an extended period of time without using an adjustable standing desk. In anti-gravity situations the human body deteriorates at a faster speed. Physical movements such as standing up or bending down, increase the force of gravity on your body on the other hand. The key is to disengage from this low anti-gravity situation as much as possible by standing up and moving about as anti-gravity environments speed up cellular deterioration. Get up every 15 minutes whenever you are engaged in prolonged seated activities for a reasonable goal.

Overall benefits of Sit-Stand Desks:

Physiological Effects:

Active desks have showed clear benefits over sitting on some baseline physiological measures, such as energy expenditure. On average, participants have an average heart-rate increase of more than 8 beats per minute with active desks. A standing workstation can increase HDL cholesterol—aka “good” cholesterol. A hybrid standing workstation might be the best option for many workers.

Psychological Effects:

Work Performance: Employees who use a sit-stand workstation for four hours a day during on work week have had no significant difference in characters typed per minute or typing errors made when standing. With the other desks, some minor decreases in typing and mouse proficiency were detected.

Mood: Participants who use active desks show a clear mood boost. People have reported less fatigue, tension, confusion, and depression, and more vigor, energy, focus, and happiness with active desks. And when they went back to their old desks, their overall mood returned to baseline levels significantly.

Cognitive Function: According to a study, there has been no negative impact on things like information processing, reading, and attention. And a brand new study found that sit stand desks might actually provide improve memory and attention.

Making way for happier workers, standing desks have allowed for steady performance among employees who switched from sitting. A hybrid ergonomic desk workstation might be the best option: it offers all the benefits of standing but avoids some of the new muscle aches that might emerge from standing all day, a really good deal!

In general, active desks are a win for the body and at least a push for the mind.

In suggesting ways to battle seasonal depression - moving your body will compete with that tendency to be sluggish, and can produce good brain chemistry.

At the office, staying active can mean:

  • Taking brisk lunchtime walks with co workers
  • Strolling over to a coworker’s desk to discuss a project instead of picking up the phone or sending an email
  • Using a sit stand desk converter to promote active movement, boost calorie burn, and help improve your overall feeling of wellbeing.

 

Standing Desks: Your Solution to Depression

By helping to help enhance energy and focus, both of which are potentially beneficial for combating the effects of seasonal depression, height adjustable desks are everything you need while working. For these and other reasons, a standing desk converter or an adjustable height desk should be seriously considered as an effective and important part of your winter health and wellness program. To increase healthy movement, maximize comfort, and reduce fatigue throughout your workday - you can also add ergonomic desk accessories such as a floor mat, active sitting chair, and footrest.

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