--- title: "Bad News, Home Office Grunts: Standing Desks Could Actually Be Bad for You" description: "Bad news for standing desk zealots: you may not be as superior to your seated counterparts as you once thought." date: "2024-10-19" modified: "2024-10-19" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/standing-desks-bad-for-you" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Studies" tags: - "heart health" - "labor" - "sedentary" - "standing desk" --- # Bad News, Home Office Grunts: Standing Desks Could Actually Be Bad for You ![Bad news for standing desk zealots: you may not be as superior to your seated counterparts as you once thought.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* Bad news for [standing desk zealots](): you may not be as superior to your seated counterparts as you think you are. Researchers at the University of Sydney [have found]() that standing desks may not reduce the risk of heart disease after all — they may actually *increase* circulatory issues like varicose veins. These findings don't, of course, mean that sitting all day is good for you, either, but they do highlight the importance of white-collar workers moving around throughout the day. According to a [new paper]() published in the *International Journal of Epidemiology*, both sitting all day and standing all day without changing it up seems to be pretty bad for you. Using UK Biobank data gleaned from more than 83,000 patients who wore high-grade wearable monitors, the Sydney researchers found that for every extra 30 minutes standing after two hours, the risk of circulatory disease went up by a whopping 11 percent. Standing also did not appear to decrease the risk of heart attacks or strokes either, which very much goes against the preachings of standing desk enthusiasts who insist that buying a [tall $500 workstation]() will [improve your health](). Rather than saying one is better than the other, the researchers looked into whether standing desks could help or hinder health. As they found, being still too long is bad for you regardless of whether you're standing or sitting. "The key takeaway is that standing for too long will not offset an otherwise sedentary lifestyle and could be risky for some people in terms of circulatory health," explained University of Sydney medicine professor Matthew Ahmadi in a [statement](). "We found that standing more does not improve cardiovascular health over the long term and increases the risk of circulatory issues." Given the narrow scope of this research, there could well be other benefits to standing while you work — but the best intervention, per these Aussie researchers, is to simply get up and move around. "For people who sit for long periods on a regular basis, including plenty of incidental movement throughout the day and structured exercise may be a better way to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease," explained coauthor and [wearables expert]() Emmanuel Stamatakis. To paraphrase former president Barack Obama: if you like your standing desk, [you can keep it]() — just don't tell your friends and coworkers that they're wrong for wanting to sit every once in a while. **More on hearts:** [*Study Finds That You Should Drink Specific Amounts of Specific Types of Alcohol for Maximum Health*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()