While it’s designed to help people become more productive at work, a standing desk provides even more benefits—with some being more surprising than others. For example, as it turns out, it can make users much more creative.
Standing desks can boost productivity by being built in a way that improves their users’ physical and mental health. But those same health benefits can also increase their creativity. If you’re a writer, painter or musician, getting a standing desk can make your creative juices flow much better.
If you want to learn how exactly standing desks can help you become a better artist, here are five ways they can positively impact your creativity, enabling you to come up with more inspired, innovative ideas.
Standing Desks Prevent or Lessen Back Pain
Sitting for hours on end can cause a lot of pain, particularly back pain. Such discomfort can significantly reduce anyone’s ability to get anything done. Stand-up desks put a stop to or alleviate this by letting users stand when they get sore. That’s great for staying productive, but it’s also effective in improving creativity.
As any creative person knows, making something isn’t easy. For one thing, it’s not something you can normally do at a drop of hat. Most people need to be in the mood. It’s even harder if you’re in pain. A standing desk puts you at less risk of suffering from back pain brought on by being seated for too long, letting you focus on being creative. The more focused you are, the more creative you’ll be.
Standing Desks Encourage Movement While Working
Since standing for too long can be just as painful as being stuck in your seat, you don’t have to stay on your feet when using a sit-stand desk. Just like it’s called, you can alternate between sitting and standing at your sit-stand desk. You’ll just be as productive as when you’d choose to stay standing. But know that doing so will also make you more creative.
There’s a lot of evidence proving how physical activity improves creativity. A well-known one is how simply taking a stroll can increase it. In the case of standing desks, being able to move while working is just as effective.
Standing Desks Improve Blood Circulation
One of the reasons sitting for extended periods is painful is that it reduces blood flow in the extremities, particularly the legs. Stay seated for too long and your blood circulation goes down, causing the blood to remain in your limbs, making them sore. An adjustable standing desk can keep this from happening by letting you get up or sit down when your legs start to ache while still allowing you to work. That can also get your creative juices flowing.
Exercise increases circulation by getting the heart pumping faster. Working at a standing desk might not get your heart pumping as hard as a workout, but it will still effectively get your blood flowing. The better your blood flow is, the more flexible and alert you’ll be. The better you feel, the more creative you’ll become.
Standing Desks Boost Cognitive Functions
The increased blood circulation that ergonomic standing desks make possible doesn’t just benefit their users physically. It also helps with mental health.
All that blood that standing desks help circulate doesn’t all go to the arms and legs. Some flow to the brain. The more blood circulates to this part of the body, the better the cognitive functions, like attention, memory and problem-solving, get.
Creativity is an inherently mental exercise, with most of it taking place in the mind. Given how they help with cognitive processes, standing desks effectively let users become more creative.
Standing Desks Themselves Spur Creativity
It’s probably obvious by now that standing desks aren’t your typical office desks. They not only increase productivity but also improve health. They’re so innovative that they can inspire you to come up with new ways of working, letting you be as creative as you possibly can. Stand more, think better, and allow your creativity to flow.
As long as you get the right standing desk and use it to the fullest, there’s no telling the heights your creativity can reach.
