6 Ways to Beat Fatigue When Standing at Work

Reviewed by Betsy Sanchez
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Betsy Sanchez

Betsy Sanchez is a professional graphic designer with over 10 years of experience. She loves all things tech and that's why she started writing on different topics online now here, working with us to help the audience who are looking for perfect comfort.

Ways to Beat Fatigue When Standing at Work

Sitting at work is a practice followed for decades. However, we have understood that sitting for hours isn’t the ideal body posture over time. Though it helps your focus on the work and seems convenient, in the long term, it can trigger some severe body problems.

To avoid issues later in old age, millennials have developed a new work practice. Yes! The new practice is standing at the desk and completing the task.

You must note that standing for prolonged intervals is as harmful as sitting for hours. Besides that, standing requires more energy and adds up fatigue faster than sitting.

If you are spending hours continuously sitting on your desk, you must check this out:

As per a study conducted by the Annals of Internal Medicine, it was discovered that prolonged sitting leads to early mortality.

But, now, since you are aware of the harmful effects of sitting and want to change your lifestyle, we are here to help you.

Initially, when we introduced the standing culture at our premise, we found that most of our team members struggled to beat fatigue and strain, which was added while standing.

That’s when we decided to find some concrete solution, and here we are.

In this guide, we will list the 7 best ways (practices) to beat fatigue when standing at work.

These practices will also help you add additional comfort to your body in the workspace.

So, let’s start:

6 Ways to Beat Fatigue (While Standing at Work)

1. Proper Posture is the KEY

Perfect Posture can magically help you eliminate most of the strain in just a few days. However, while performing any activity, you must be well aware of your body posture, and if you are not sure about the perfect posture, you can always seek help.

While standing, you must regularly check your posture as a lousy body alignment can suddenly trigger joint pains.

As per the experts at Harvard Medical School, the perfect standing posture must comply with all of the followings:

  • The abdominal Muscle should be braced
  • Weight distribution on Hips should be equal
  • Chin must be in parallel with your floor
  • Both the legs must experience equal weight distribution
  • The spine must be neutral and straight.
  • Shoulders, Hips, and Ankles must be aligned in a straight line.

Once you have followed all the norms mentioned above, you will find that your joints are less strained, and your hamstrings aren’t struggling to hold your body upright.

Overall, you will notice significant changes (reduction) in your physical stress.

2. Pick the Comfy Pair of Shoes

At times, we often buy a few pairs of shoes just for their appearance.

However, it is strongly recommended to buy a pair of shoes only if your feet are correctly resting and the shoe’s inner sole is aligned well with your feet. In addition, the ARC of the shoe must align with your foot’s arc.

You must not buy a shoe if your feet are struggling even slightly inside the shoe. This is because you have to spend hours wearing the same shoe, and in longer durations, you might suffer from strain on the feet, muscles, and ligaments.

Also, heels look very professional for women, but we won’t recommend you stand for prolonged intervals wearing heels. Heels apply extra pressure at a few particular points of the foot’s surface, and due to that, you might feel comfortable after a point of time. At times, your body might also struggle to maintain a balance.

These days, you can also buy customized, comfortable insoles separately.

If you stand wearing a comfortable pair of shoes, you will be able to minimize most of the strain around your knees, ankles, and bottom of your feet. Overall, your body will be more relaxed while standing.

3. Switch between Standing and Sitting Position

Anything in excess is harmful and can cause issues in the long term. Similarly, if you spend hours standing or even sitting continuously, you might suffer from body pains.

It is recommended to shuffle between standing and sitting at work continuously. As per the studies conducted at Nation Institute for Occupational Safety, it was concluded that standing for prolonged hours could lead to lower back and knee pain and multiple issues for pregnant women.

While switching between standing and sitting positions at work, you can follow the guidelines suggested by Cornell University:

  • Sit for 20 Minutes
  • Stand for 8 Minutes
  • Move for 2 Minutes

It might sound a bit unrealistic at first, but you can make it a part of your lifestyle with regular practice. Over time, you will notice a significant improvement in your body fatigue and productivity.

4. Height Adjusting Desks

We have mentioned above that you must regularly switch between standing and sitting during a day at work. You, as a human, can easily switch between positions, but if you are using a fixed sitting desk, it will be close to impossible for you to work at the same desk while standing.

Therefore, you have to look out for some height adjusting desks to tackle this situation. These days, you will easily get affordable height adjusting desks on the majority of the marketplaces.

As mentioned above, while standing, you have to monitor your posture closely. Getting a height adjusting desk will help you maintain an ergonomic posture while standing and sitting.

If you are not confident about getting a complete desk, you can choose a good desk riser. These are available at super low prices and serve the purpose well.

However, desk risers have their set of limitations; one of them is that while switching back to sitting from standing, you have to adjust the height of the desk risers. Check out some of the popular desk risers.

5. Sitting-Standing Chairs

As height adjusting desks support you while standing, the sitting-standing chairs offer additional support to you during long-standing sessions.

Though sitting-standing chairs sound pretty comfortable but, most of them lack ergonomics; therefore, if you have additional space in your workspace to keep an extra chair, you can buy a sitting-standing chair, and while standing, you can use it.

If you have a compact workspace, you can avoid getting a sitting-standing chair; instead, you can ensure that you are not spending too much time standing.

We are not recommending using these chairs while sitting because they don’t come with a backrest, and only a few of them have armrests. As a result, your body might have to undergo extra stress while sitting; however, while standing, these chairs can give you additional comfort and reduce maximum strain on your legs and joints.

Sitting-standing chairs are very affordable and require less space than conventional office chairs. Check out some of the most top-rated sitting-standing chairs.

6. Regular Stretching

While working at the desk, you can try a few stretches to make your body more relaxed.

Studies suggest that regular stretches, breaks, and alternate positions can increase productivity and reduce strain on the body.

Regular stretching can improve your blood circulation and prevents cramps in the lower limbs.

During work, you can perform the following stretches:

  • Shoulder Stretches
  • Upper Arm Stretches
  • Head Movement
  • Wrist Stretches
  • Chest Stretches

These stretches will help you avoid various injuries such as varicose veins, tenosynovitis, and carpal tunnel syndrome. Therefore, we would highly recommend you to do the stretches at least once a day (working hours).

Bonus: Exercise Regularly

Studies have revealed that regular exercise can eliminate most of the health-related issues. If you are not spending at least 20-25 minutes on your physical activity, we highly recommend doing so.

You can try basic jogging or core exercises, and later, with time, you can take up intense workouts.

However, if you suffer from body pain, we recommend visiting a medical expert immediately.

Conclusion

Neither prolonged standing nor sitting are ideal for your body. You have to create an equilibrium between these two positions to avoid the majority of the health issues. We have listed the most effective and less expensive ways to beat fatigue while standing at a desk.

The Key is posture; you have to ensure that it is perfect at any given point in time. The wrong posture can trigger sudden pain in your body, and in the worst case, you might have to visit a medical expert.

If you are standing for the first time at work, it is natural that your body will experience some fatigue; however, with time, it will reduce. If it doesn’t, you can try implementing the methods mentioned above and observe for a week.

However, even after a few weeks, if you feel no difference in fatigue, you must consult with a doctor. It is because the reason behind your body fatigue could be more than just standing.

Do let us know in the comments if you have any queries or suggestions.