Varidesk Pro Plus 36: Standing Desk Review
Did you know that many health experts now consider sitting for up to eight hours a day at work just as bad as smoking? VARIDESK®, the leading manufacturer of height-adjustable standing desks, has done something about this by introducing some outstanding electric standing desks.
Apparently standing desks help burn up to 50 calories per hour, increase concentration by 46%, and are used by over 90% of the fortune 500 companies! Clearly there’s something in this so we decided to road-test one of the most popular models – the Varidesk Pro Plus 36 – to see what all the fuss is about.
Unboxing such a large, heavy item can generally be quite daunting but to our surprise, it comes fully assembled right out of the box. With no assembly, installation or tools required, setting this up was a breeze. Deciding where to put it was more of a challenge than the set-up itself. After popping it on top of our traditional desk, we were ready to go.
If you’re like us and have been using traditional sitting desks forever, then be prepared to feel the difference once you’ve tried one of these. After a week of use, the change was clearly evident…particularly around the neck and shoulder region. Where we were previously hunched over the computer screen on our traditional desk, we could adjust the Pro Plus 36 to our liking which allowed us to go from sitting to standing all throughout the day. We certainly felt a difference in posture and the aches and cracks that came from sitting in the same spot were also significantly reduced.
If you have a dual-monitor setup, the ProPlus 36 comes in very handy as it accommodates larger workspaces very well. The two-tiered design with a separate keyboard/mouse deck gives you plenty of room for basics and accessories with the added convenience of never having to move any components when raising or lowering your Varidesk. If that’s not enough, check out some of the other benefits:
Weight Loss: Most people don’t realise that sitting at a desk all day can negatively affect your weight. On average, office workers put on over 8lbs in their first year of work, and also sit for around 16+ hours a day including commuting and watching television at home. An electric stand up desk can help to burn calories. Sitting for the full day can significantly slow your metabolic rate and can negate any workouts you do get in that day. Getting your blood flowing and increasing your metabolism is only a good thing.
Reduced Back Pain: Back pain often occurs from prolonged inactivity and sitting. One study has found that switching between sitting and standing throughout the work day can lead to a 54% reduction in neck and back pain. Also, 95% of standing desk users felt some relief from lower back pain within 15 days.
Brain Health: Using a standing desk can increase productivity by 46%. A study by Texas A&M shows that continued utilisation of the stand-biased desks was associated with significant improvements in executive function and working memory capabilities. Making the decision to reduce occupational sitting time may have mental health benefits. This includes anxiety, depression, memory loss and any feeling associated with being overwhelmed and causes you to just not be yourself. Work smarter, not harder.
Heart Health: Your heart needs exercise, the right foods and spending less time sitting and more time standing lowers blood sugar, cholesterol and weight, which means a lower risk of heart disease.
We look forward to seeing these benefits over the long term but we certainly saw and felt the difference of using the ProPlus 36 in just a week. We loved having the ability to adjust things to our liking and going from standing to sitting with ease had us actually moving more than we’d ever moved before in front of a computer screen. If one small change to your workspace can have such a positive impact on your future health like this, then it certainly gets a thumbs-up from us.
The Varidesk Pro Plus 36 is available now from AU.Varidesk.com
