Walking and Working: Treadmill Desks

Lack of time is the reason most people give for not exercising regularly—and we are paying the price of becoming a sit-down, slow-down nation. A 14-year study of 123,216 people demonstrated that a sedentary lifestyle reduces energy and increases a variety of health problems. Sitting also suppresses hormones affecting our triglycerides, cholesterol, and other heart disease markers. Worst of all, sitting too much shortens our lifespans.¹

Now that sitting is being called “the new smoking,” many Americans are considering options for “getting vertical”. Some use a “stand desk” instead of a traditional “sit desk.” Stand desk users say their legs and feet get tired at first, but their bodies adapt. For those with a tendency toward developing varicose veins or certain other lower-extremity problems, however, a stand desk may not be the answer. Besides, even if standing is better overall than sitting, it’s still not moving. And moving is what the body craves.

Researchers at Germany’s Max Planck Institute on Human Development recommend a combination of walking and working. A recent study says walking while working not only improves health but also increases productivity.²

Enter the treadmill desk. The New York Times credits James Levine, MD, PhD, an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic, as the popular inspiration for walking-and-working in America. It may seem impossible to work effectively at a computer while using a treadmill. But these setups are not the typical gym treadmill, where the object is to break a sweat. In fact, the object is just the opposite. The treadmills used with these desks generally operate at one or two miles per hour. At that rate, the user doesn’t even get out of breath. One video on the internet shows two women at treadmill desks whose job it is to take reservations by phone—and their customers say they weren’t even aware that the women were walking.

The treadmill desk is growing in popularity in offices and among telecommuters for another reason: Mayo Clinic research says users of a treadmill desk can burn around 100-130 calories per hour at speeds slower than 2 miles an hour.³ A Mayo Clinic article on workplace exercises says an office worker could lose as much as 44-66 lbs. of excess weight by using a treadmill desk for just two or three hours a day.⁴

A few minutes’ research will turn up a wide variety of styles and prices—from under $200 for the do-it-yourself model created from a few scrap boards and a cut-down treadmill from Craig’s List to around $5,000 for the elegant Steelcase Walkstation—with a desk that rises and lowers at the push of a button. Happily, many choices exist between the two extremes. One caution—make sure the desk portion is sturdy. I saw a photo of one treadmill desk that had long, skinny, wooden legs—and no cross-bracing on them. One misstep and that setup would have dropped monitor, keyboard, and possibly the user on the floor.

Around the first of the year, I invested in a treadmill stand-type desk to use while telecommuting for ACA. After an hour with a screwdriver and an instruction sheet, the new stand desk was installed beside my sit desk to simplify the transfer of monitor and keyboard back and forth between the two several times during my workday.

I selected a TreadDesk. (Note: There is no conflict of interest. I paid retail and they do not know I work for ACA.) It runs about $1,500 for a treadmill, a stand desk, a small monitor that shows how far you’ve walked, plus a clip-on safety device. If you fall off the treadmill, the device stops the treadmill. Since it moves so slowly, that is probably not much of a concern for most people.

Like anything new, getting used to a treadmill desk takes a little time and patience. It felt irritating at first to have to move monitor/keyboard back and forth but that soon became the new normal. Much of my work can be done on the treadmill desk. I can edit articles easily enough, field emails, and interview doctors of chiropractic by telephone all day long. The only thing I still haven’t mastered is the creative side of writing while walking. Maybe that will come in time.

Two more things to keep in mind:

• Most treadmills designed to work with a stand desk do not go fast enough to be used for a typical cardio workout, although they could probably be modified for that purpose.
• It goes without saying that people who have had transient ischemic attacks (TIAs), or who suffer from poor proprioception because of peripheral neuropathy will want to consult with their health care providers before trying or buying a treadmill desk. That’s true of anyone with health problems that could be adversely affected by increased walking.

References

1. Patel AV. Leisure time spent sitting in relation to total mortality in a prospective cohort of US adults. Am J Epidemiology. 2010 July;172(4):419-429.
2. Schaefer S, Lovden M, Wieckhorst B, Lindenberger U. Max Planck Institute for Human Development Berlin, Germany. Cognitive performance is improved while walking: differences in cognitive-sensorimotor couplings between children and young adults. Euro J Dev Psych. 2010;7(3):371-389.
3. 3. Katz M. Fitness—I Put in 5 Miles at the Office. The New York Times. Sept. 16, 2008
4. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/office-exercise/SM00115

Source: http://www.chirohealthy.com/articles/walking-and-working-treadmill-desks.asp