What is the Best Standing Desk?
Why You Should Buy a Standing Desk
Sitting the whole day is not a good thing health wise. In fact the best way of ensuring that you remain health and injury free is to move around during the day. You must be able to alternate between sitting and standing. This guide looks at some of the best standing desks that can help you remain healthy.
It is true that your desk is the foundation of your work place and is the backbone of your work life. The chair you sit on while working is perhaps the one of the best utility you have and is something that inspires you and will keep you healthy, focused and motivated. If you want to get rid of a bad leg and remain healthy, the sitting position is crucial.
Similarly, if you want to avoid back pain, neck pain or shoulder pain and you want to work happier, it is important that you carefully select your desk and the chair to use.
When choosing the desk, it is important that you select one that will serve you for long. It should also serve you for many years. Thus, this article focuses on how to incorporate all these wonderful ideas when selecting a desk.
Setting up a simple desk that meets all the standards is easy and will not cost you a lot of money. If you are among the people who care about quality, and you are prepared to spend money on quality, you will be able to find a reliable desk that you can work on while sitting or standing. Similarly, if you are just interested in having something that will allow you to turn the existing desk into a stand workstation, this article has plenty of ideas you can make use of.
Standing Desk Comparison Table
Image | Model | Material | Max | Price | Rating |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wood | 16.5 | $$$$$ | |||
Particleboard | 16 | $$$ | |||
Particleboard | 15.25 | $ | |||
Not stated | 17.5 | $$$$ | |||
Birch wood | 22 | $$ | |||
Melamine | 35 | $$$ | |||
Aluminum | Not stated | $ | |||
Wood | 16.5 | $$$ | |||
Wood | 47.25 | $$$ | |||
Not stated | 17.25 | $$ |
Testing it Before Buying — Easy and Simple Standing Desk Hack
If you do not have a lot of money, you can still start cheap. There are many people who have worked on a stack of books, or a kitchen counter before raising money to use to buy a standing desk. Just need to make certain you have the right ergonomics and you will feel ten times better after the first week using a standing desk.
If your existing desk is too low, you can still add on more to the top to make a makeshift standing desk. Consider the one that comes from Colin Nederkoorn designed with an IKEA hack at a cost of $20. This desk is referred to as Standesk 2200. Its popularity on the internet is unmatched.
Mat Honan, BuzzFeed’s Valley bureau chief built the desk at his office while still working at WIRED. Honaon was the first person to own and use the desk even though there are plenty of people who are already owning and using the desks.
There are plenty of firms that like the Standdesk 2200. The desk is cheap, looks cute and ideal for offices.
Having such desks that are not just cheap but which can serve you is great. One important thing that must be remembered is that DIY standing desks are not adjustable and will not allow you to switch between sitting and standing as you can with the adjustable desks. The best way to get started is by having a cheap hack but as you progress into your second and third year, you need to get something that you can use for everyday life. Thus, it may be necessary that you find something that is better suited for you.
Why It Is Important To Stand
According to research, sitting a lot has its own perils. The effects can be compared to many scientific aspects such as global warming, consumption of sugar and smoking.
According to Dr. Levin James of Mayo Clinic, Excessive sitting is a lethal activity and is the leading cause of the problems we are currently facing. He asserts that sitting for the whole day is so bad that it cannot be outdone by exercises. There are people who spend the whole day sitting and do a few exercises in the evening. Such people will not achieve much by the exercise they do in the evening. This scenario has been explained by Olivia Judson a biologist and a research fellow at the imperial college London.
It doesn’t matter whether you run every morning or visit the gym regularly. Spending the rest of the day seated in your office and the car, chair or your sofa at home will put you at a higher risk of obesity, heart attack and other concerns related to poor health. Irrespective of whether you exercise regularly or not, sitting for long periods is detrimental to your health.
Sitting is a passive activity that will not burn a single calorie. Excessive sitting will also impact negatively on the body functions. Judson asserts that when one sits for a long time, it makes the body do things that are bad.
For instance, it reduces the amount of lipoprotein lipase — a molecule that is crucial in helping the body process fats. This molecule is normally produced by much tissue including the muscles. Low levels of lipoprotein lipase is associated with a variety of health problems such as heart attack. According to some studies conducted in rats, the leg muscles will only produce one molecule when they are actively flexed. This happens when the animal is standing up and ambling about. This implies that when you are seated the metabolic process is slowed down.
What Constitutes a Good Adjustable Standing Desk?
A great adjustable desk is one that moves quickly and quietly whether you are switching to sitting height or standing height. It should allow for a wide range of adjustment and should be capable of accommodating different sizes of people. In addition, it should be capable of storing two height settings in its memory so that you don’t waste time searching for the right sitting or standing height.
Besides, it should be stable, strong, and reliable and should have the ability to lift and lower the desk surface and any other thing that you will keep in it. It should also have a good warranty including moving parts that are essential in your daily life. It should be capable of lifting and lowering the desk surface and any other thing that is kept in the desk.
Also, it should have a warranty because it has some moving parts and it is very important in your daily business life. The desk should have a good cable management system like cutouts and pull throughs, cable trays, and should have the ability to add accessories like keyboard tray or power strip.
The adjustable stand desk comes in three types; hydraulic/pneumatic, hand cranked and electronic. The electronic ones are a bit more costly than the hand cranked desks and can suffer from a number of imbalance issues while the hydraulic ones are quiet & elegant but they are expensive. They lack any sort of preset height options and cannot hold more weight.
The Best Standing Desk Winners
Ergo Desktop Kangaroo Pro
The Kangaroo Pro can help you transform your desk into a standing desk.
If you have a favorite desk and you are not ready to replace it, you may consider buying a $400 Kangaroo.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW CURRENT PRICE
Ergo Desktop Kangaroo Pro Junior
The Kangaroo Pro Junior comes with numerous features including a 24×18-inch platform which serves as the base. The junior model has a bigger platform and has a base level that can accommodate the mouse and the keyboard while the second level can accommodate the monitor. The regular kangaroo model has a platform that is used for laptops and monitors. All the pro models have their top platform that is ideal for a mountable monitor.
Once you have the monitor and the keyboard in place, the knob should be loosened and you can use the brake to lower or raise the two platforms to any height you think is suitable for you. You do not need to re-calibrate the space between each adjustment since the platforms travel together. The Kangaroo pro uses pneumatic elevation system which makes it easier for the platform to slide up without an option of crashing down to your table top.
Luckily, each of the models has a stabilizing leg which can easily be wedged into the base and the keyboard once the kangaroo has been set up. This is what makes the Kangaroo Pro Junior more stable. If the leg is not there, it will be able to hold the monitor and the keyboard but it can also be used to hold the laptop if you use a laptop. Once you slide the stabilization leg in place, it makes the desk stronger and can easily support 15 pounds of pressure.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW CURRENT PRICEErgo Depot Jarvis Standing Desk Frame
The Ergo Depot Jarvis standing desk is considered one of the most ideal for most people. It is even recommended by many of the best chiropractors! Even though it is not the best-looking desk, it has all the features of a great and pricey standing desk. The desk is sturdy, reliable and has a great motor. It has a huge height range that can accommodate tall people and comes with a reliable frame that allows for height presets and other functional accessories.
This desk has a 7-year warranty and you can buy a different frame that you can easily adjust so that it works with desktops of different sizes. This desk is not the most perfect desk you can get and is more expensive. However, we recommend it since it is good, reliable and comes at a great price.
The Jarvis’ sells at about $645 and comes with a 4 foot wide top. The sale price is fixed in such a way that it bars any supply chain issue. It is highly recommended with a 60-inch top handset and two cable routing grommets and a cable management kit at a total cost of $854.
The good thing about the Jarvis frame is that it is made of steel and comes in a white, black or colored steel each of the legs has one motor and the height could extend up to 25 to 51 inches. It has a number of adjustable desks top at about 45 to 48 inches and is ideal for people who are more than six foot.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW CURRENT PRICEVARIDESK Pro Plus Height-Adjustable Standing Desk
This standing desk lets you shift from seated to standing smoothly and seamlessly, so you’re never in one position for too long. When your spine starts to feel compressed, stand up and give your back that release, and get back on your chair when your legs and feet begin to tire — all without breaking your concentration or interrupting your train of thought.
What’s more there’s a lot of space in this standing desk. It can accommodate your PC monitor, keyboard, and mouse, as well as the laptop that you use at home. A mug of coffee can also find a place in its wide work surface.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW CURRENT PRICEStand Up Desk Store 60″ Crank Steel Adjustable Stand Up Desk
Tall people just swear by this stand up desk, as it gets to a maximum height that lets even 6-foot-7 guys work comfortably while standing without having to stoop or crouch. This is a standalone piece of furniture with a crank mechanism that lets you lift and lower the desktop as needed.
It is also quite spacious and holds as much stuff as a regular desk would. It can hold two big monitors or 3 smaller ones or 3 laptops. Moreover, it is strong, stable, and solid as well as pretty darn gorgeous
CLICK HERE TO VIEW CURRENT PRICE
Conclusion
If you want a desk that can allow you to work while standing, you must consider buying the adjustable sit/stand desk. The desk allows you to adjust and vary your sitting and standing positions as you work.
The Jarvis ErgoDepot remains the best electronic adjustable height desk that is not just sturdy but is reliable, comes with warranty and can easily be customized. It also comes at a great price.
If you are just starting out, you may need to start by hacking a cheap standing desk so that you can get used to the idea. If you have a fixed height sitting desk, consider buying a Kangaroo pro junior so that you can easily turn it into a sit /stand type of a desk.
This article was provided by Matt McVicker.
Author Bio: As a photographer and avid blogger, a good desk is a must for me. After searching long and hard, I finally found the perfect standing desk. You can see more articles related to photography at my blog Photos-Matter.com.