Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: don’t give up the fight!

There’s a good chance that Bob Marley was talking about the new stand-up desk craze that’s spreading through the office world. We can pretend, right?

I’ve been doing research on the health benefits of using a stand-up desk after seeing this infographic.

Thankfully our CFO owns a roofing company and is also a general contractor, so he was able to construct this awesome extension to my current desk! I did some research online to figure out the correct height for the monitor and made sure it would sit at eye-level for me. My keyboard has a slide-out tray (drawer pulls from Home Depot!) that holds my mouse as well. Underneath I have some storage for pens and office supplies. The mat is an anti-fatigue mat that I purchased on Amazon since it had good reviews and was reasonably priced.

I have an exercise ball at home already, so I’m going to bring that in and slide it under my desk for when I need sitting breaks. A stool would work as well, but I thought the ball would be fun (and they’ve come recommended for better posture, too!). There is research that shows standing for 8 hours every day is not healthy either, so it takes a good balance to make this work. The main thing that interested me was the fact that your metabolism basically stops when you sit down. Studies show that even people who exercise regularly cannot escape the downsides of sitting down for hours at a time.

Overall, I am really looking forward to seeing how this desk works out. I will update you all in a few months with my findings! After reading countless articles about people who said they would never go back to a sit-down desk, I had to give it a try. There are plenty of expensive options out there to purchase (some are gorgeous), but this fits in perfectly with our office and my current setup.  Benefits include increased energy throughout the day, better focus on tasks, reduced back and neck pain, and the feeling that work is less structured due to not being confined to a chair. Fingers crossed, but so far I’m really enjoying standing up today.

stevie desk 1 stevie desk 2