If you’re a desk-dweller, you know good and well how much sitting all day affects your body. Although there are ways to maintain a high degree of ergonomics while sitting for extended periods, it’s difficult always to remain sitting with your shoulders rolled back, back straight, feet on the floor, etc. Between getting up and moving around, avoiding the slouch, and looking away from your computer every now and again, what’s a sedentary employee supposed to do?

The answer is simple: stand up.

Because the workforce relies mainly on technology, telecommunications, and being plugged into a computer for over 40+ hours a week, the seated worker has to be a bit more intentional about incorporating healthy movements and postures into their everyday workday. So if you’re wondering whether standing desks are better than the traditional desk format, the answer is yes. Plus it’s a change of pace which is mentally beneficial, too!

Mix up the seating and enjoy the standing desk benefits listed below:

Standing desks have a broad list of long-term health benefits, but short-term benefits include improving your mood and boosting your energy levels. (Raise your hand if you could use a little mood and energy booster during the work day!)

According to HealthLine, “in one seven-week study, participants using standing desks reported less stress and fatigue than those who remained seated the entire workday. Additionally, 87 percent of those using standing desks reported increased vigor and energy throughout the day. Upon returning to their old desks, overall moods reverted to their original levels. These findings align with broader research on sitting and mental health, which links sedentary time with an increased risk of both depression and anxiety.”

The idea that standing is better for you than sitting dates back well into the 1950s. This claim was supported by a study that examined bus conductors and found that conductors who stood all day were at almost half the risk of heart disease than conductors who sat all day.

More recently, a 2013 study revealed that prolonged sitting times in adults could contribute to a rise in the risk of heart disease by up to 147 percent!

The bottom line here is that standing at your desk can help you decrease your risks of heart disease and improve your heart health, overall.

There’s a difference between being busy and being productive. Often in our sedentary jobs, we spend all day sitting at the computer only to walk away feeling as though we haven’t gotten much done.

Despite concerns that standing desks may hinder productivity, a study of 60 young office professionals showed that standing desks had no hindrance on their work output. It’s even speculated that because standing desks are proven to increase mood and energy, it could be a viable solution to the being busy versus being productive paradox.

Science has proven that you burn more calories standing than you do sitting. When observing just how many extra calories can be burned by standing, one study revealed that standing over the course of one afternoon had the potential to burn up to 170 additional calories a day. That’s 1,000 extra calories a week that you can burn while working!

Office furniture companies have been swift to respond to the increasing popularity of sit-to-stand desks. There are plenty of options to choose from, and which one is best for you, depends on your space and the type of work that you do. For those that have a multi-screen set up, a larger surface area is important, but for those who work from home with a laptop, might want to consider something smaller.