Kathryn Millis walks and works at her treadmill desk.
Millis averages between one to three miles a day as she works.
NICOLE DECRISICIO / THE DEPAUW
Sitting is the new smoking, according to a March 2015 article from CBS News.
A slew of faculty and staff at DePauw University have been jumping onto the relatively new fad of standing desks, all for the health benefits associated with the trend.
The same article cited a 2011 U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study that found that when workers reduced their sitting time by an hour a day, they saw a 54 percent reduction in upper back and neck pain. They also had mood and energy increases.
Too much sitting doubles the risk of diabetes and heart disease and could shorten life spans, according to a November 2014 Boston Globe article.
A February 2014 article in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine claimed that “there was a linear relationship between greater amounts of sedentary time and mortality risk.”
But while standing desks might be relatively new to DePauw, they’re not new to the corporate world. In 2012, Cummins made the move to standing and treadmill desks.
Yet, faculty and staff who have tried the standing desks have seen the aforementioned health benefits.
“I was having some back issues, and I thought it might be from too much sitting,” Rick Provine, director of libraries.
He claims that the standing desk has helped not only with back issues but also general fatigue.
“I get less tired, which seems counterintuitive when you’re standing all day,” Provine said.
He tends to stand all day, despite his desk’s ability to lower down to the height of a regular desk with relative ease.
But the trend extends beyond the library. Joe Heithaus, professor of English, also has a standing desk.
“I had always thought that a standing desk would be a good idea. I probably would have done nothing about it had I not broken my neck in mid-July,” Heithaus said. “By the time school started this year, I had a neck brace and a clear need to stand rather than sit.”
His desk has the ability to raise and lower with the touch of a button.
“I have the cadillac of standing desks,” Heithaus said.
The only downfall occurs when meeting with students.
“It does make it a little awkward,” Heithaus said. “But I have mitigated that with chairs in my office.”
The best way to have a health based standing desk is to allow the elbows to bend at 90 degrees, have the monitor at eye level and not lock the knees.
Heithaus has a unique solution to making his desk achieve these health measures.
“I’m using a Webster’s dictionary and my dissertation,” Heithaus said.
He too has seen a decrease in fatigue.
Kathryn Millis, coordinator of reference and research, created her own treadmill desk to help relieve joint issues.
“It’s better for me to stay active,” Millis said.
She walks at .5 miles per hour, which is the rate at which the walking does not detract from work.
Since implementing the treadmill desk, Millis said she has been healthier and not in pain. She ends up walking between one and three miles most days.
“I hope they become more widely available,” Millis said of treadmill desks.
There’s a second treadmill desk for any of the library staff to use. It is used most during the late night shifts to help them stay awake without drinking coffee, which could keep them up for hours after their shift.
Caroline Gilson, associate dean of libraries, made her own standing desk using an old bookshelf with removable shelves, boxes from cases of copy paper and books. She also bought a gel mat to stand on.
“I don’t stand all day but it gives me the opportunity to go back and forth,” Gilson said.
However, she notes that it has its flaws.
“I don't have a good writing surface,” Gilson said. “Now one can buy furniture that can accommodate that.”
However, she likes the standing workstation nonetheless.
“Sometimes I can focus a little better,” Gilson said.
She hopes that students can one day take advantage of standing desks.
“I think it would be fantastic when the library has more conversation about renovat[ing]…space that could be created to accommodate standing and working on your laptop,” Gilson said. “Some students might like that.”