At first glance, the sight of employees standing while working looks somewhat absurd. In fact, when autonomous smart office solutions were introduced to the market in January 2015, many people were convinced that the concept was headed for the rocks. It simply wasn’t working in the minds of many.
However, four years later, Autonomous has increased its sales to unimaginable heights. By 2017, the company’s annual revenue had skyrocketed up to a 3000% increase. They are selling their smart office solutions everywhere including Facebook, Apple, Harvard Law School, Marriot, SoundCloud among a vast pool of customers. Even the White House joined the long list of global clients in need of Smart Desks, Smart Chairs, Standing Desks, Smart Tables, Smart Luggage carriers, and ergo chairs in 2017.
Autonomous clients are quick to order Smart Desks and other Autonomous products with the hope that they will pump up productivity around the workplace. But are their hopes crushed in the process? Let’s investigate this question in this guide today. But before that, what are Smart Desks, exactly?
Smart Desks Explained
The office is where most people spend their days. Think about it: from the time you hit the corporate world (around 18-23 years of age) until 65 years (perhaps older) you spend about 8 hours a day, five days a week at your workplace. It makes sense to focus your attention on the kind of desk you are sitting on when it comes to your general health and productivity.
Essentially a Smart Desk monitors your movements and tracks your calories burnt when walking and working. The best part about this type of desk is that it nudges you to stand up and walk around at specific time intervals throughout the day at the office without loss of concentration or interruption.
The idea behind this fantastic office desk is to offer people a stab at good health by allowing them to walk and stand up more. With a desk that tells you how many hours you’ve stood and how many calories you’ve burned, you are less likely to suffer certain diseases and unproductively. Autonomous claims that their Smart Desks can give you the following benefits:
- Reduced risk of fatal conditions such as obesity, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other metabolic problems.
- Lower risk of long-term mortality
- Increased focus and productivity
- Enhances a better neck and back health
Does It Enhance Productivity, Really?
You don’t need anyone to tell you that sitting down is detrimental to your overall health. Research has linked it to a wide range of health concerns including increased blood pressure, obesity, excess fat build-up around the belly area, high blood sugar and dangerous cholesterol levels. 13 studies done to determine the relationship between duration of sitting and physical activity found that people who sat continuously for over eight hours a day with zero activity suffered a high risk of dying equivalent to the risk of obesity and smoking.
Moving more helps you burn calories, leading to weight loss and high energy. It also maintains muscle tone, enhances your mental well-being and your ability to move. These things are important when it comes to your focus and concentration at work.
Then there are other benefits such as decreased back pain. Many employees often complain of back problems after sitting down for long stretches of time. A majority of them assume a wrong sitting posture besides sitting down for too long. Back pain negatively impacts productivity in more ways than one. The pain can be unbearable if your spine doesn’t sit right.
Surely, you can’t keep a sober mind if your back hurts now, can you? Tom O’ Donnel, when writing to a New Yorker article about why he switched to a Smart Desk claims that using a standing desk has dramatically given him an energy boost, eliminated his back issues, and given him a good sleep. He believes the human body shouldn’t be curved for long stretches of time like a “sad pretzel”.
The Other Side of the Coin
As you ravage the internet in search of the newest autonomous. io coupons in preparation for your first Smart Desk order, you might want to learn that new studies have proved it can also be harmful to your health. Recent research, reported by Telegraph and published in the Ergonomics Journal claims that standing for too long is equally harmful as sitting for too long.
According to the report, doing this will only create “deteriorating mental creativeness and discomfort”. The study which involved 20 people was conducted by Australia’s Curtin University. Another 12-year old study where 7,000 people participated also showed that people who stood at work for long periods of time increased their risk of developing heart disease two times than those who sat more.
Bottom-line
If you haven’t done so already, make an order for a Smart Desk as soon as yesterday. It has tremendous benefits for your health and wellness plus productivity. However, from research, you need to strike a balance between sitting and standing. An extreme case of either will land you in trouble.
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