Standing desks are the hottest new office must-have. Not only do they give your workspace that edge of LA cool – if you’re into that kind of thing – they also offer various health benefits…

Research has shown that standing desks can help you burn more calories, improve posture, reduce lower back pain, blood pressure and the risk of cardiovascular disease, as well as increasing blood flow, energy levels, alertness an boosting your mood.

Ultimately, a standing desk can boost productivity, too, since better blood circulation means more oxygen reaches the brain, making you more active for longer.

Most office workers remain sedentary for a worrying amount of time every day. At work we often sit for eight hours, commute home, watch TV for a few hours, then go to bed and sleep for eight. Doing this for five days a week for around 50 weeks of the year really adds up. (Who knew that not being able to get a seat on the train or tube is actually a good thing?)

On your feet! The Varidesk Pro Plus 36

Our bodies are not designed to sit all day. Sitting for a long period of time can severely effect our health and ruin our posture, causing back pain, strained necks, herniated discs, muscle degeneration and weakened bones.

Enter Varidesk, which has been trialled by both The University of Loughborough and the NHS, as well as other large organisations to in an effort to improve employee wellbeing.

And the best bit? You don’t have to stand for the whole day – the Varidesk takes you from sitting to standing in three seconds, so you can easily alternate between standing and sitting.

‘You can burn between 20-50 more calories per hour then sitting at a standard desk’

You can burn between 20-50 more calories per hour then sitting at a standard desk, but studies show that you should begin making the transformation with small steps building up to roughly standing for four hours a day, five days a week.

A simple rule of alternating 15 minutes standing with 15 minutes sitting will burn 200 calories per day. That’s 1,000 per week and a staggering 52,000 per year – the equivalent of running 18.71 marathons!

The Varidesk comes in a range of sizes, including those for small spaces, with prices starting from £150. The popular Varidesk Pro Plus 36 for desktop computers costs £365 and is available in black or white.

vari.com