Research Design Connection: How Much to Stand

In the last several months, multiple studies have indicated that people at work should be spending less time sitting. Now, the amount of standing that workers should do has been quantified, which will streamline planning the number of sit-stand desks to incorporate into workplaces and the design of break areas. An international panel of experts, convened in the UK, reviewed related studies published to date and determined that “for those occupations which are predominantly desk based, workers should aim to initially progress towards accumulating two hours/day of standing and light activity (light walking) during working hours, eventually progressing to a total accumulation of four hours/day…To achieve this, seated-based work should be regularly broken up with standing-based work, the use of sit–stand desks, or the taking of short active standing breaks.” Long periods of standing without moving were seen as problematic by the evaluation team; the ability to do light walking throughout the day is very important.

John Buckley, Alan Hedge, Thomas Yates, Robert Copeland, Michael Loosemore, Mark Hamer, Gavin Bradley and David Dunstan. “The Sedentary Office: A Growing Case for Change Towards Better Health and Productivity. Expert Statement Commissioned by Public Health England and the Active Working Community Interest Company.” British Journal of Sports Medicine, in press.

Sally Augustin, PhD, a cognitive scientist, is the editor of Research Design Connections (www.researchdesignconnections.com), a monthly subscription newsletter and free daily blog, where recent and classic research in the social, design, and physical sciences that can inform designers’ work are presented in straightforward language. Readers learn about the latest research findings immediately, before they’re available elsewhere. Sally, who is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, is also the author of Place Advantage: Applied Psychology for Interior Architecture (Wiley, 2009) and, with Cindy Coleman, The Designer’s Guide to Doing Research: Applying Knowledge to Inform Design (Wiley, 2012). She is a principal at Design With Science (www.designwithscience.com) and can be reached at sallyaugustin@designwithscience.com.