In addition to sitting posture, correct standing desk posture is a healthy ergonomic habit for me. Sitting isn’t the only enemy. Repetitive strain and overuse injuries are the enemy. These occur when we work in the same position for long periods of time, 8 hours a day. Regardless if we are sitting or standing.
At my previous desk job, poor computer posture led to increased risk of muscle tension, decreased blood flow, and chronic pain. But, even if we have good computer posture, repetitive strain and overuse injuries can still happen. So, switching between sit to stand positions throughout the day has been beneficial to my physical health, mental clarity, and work productivity.
This article will talk about different posture mistakes I used to make. Then, I’ll talk about how I fixed those poor posture mistakes. I learned the hard way. Now, I enjoy sharing my experience to help others. So they can avoid the pain and dysfunction I got from working at a computer 8 hours a day.
How Poor Standing Desk Posture Affects Your Health
This article is not professional medical advice. It’s based off my personal experience and opinions. For years, my poor computer posture caused muscle tension, inflammation, and chronic pain. Bad posture also decreased my mental clarity, energy level, and work productivity.
All the workplace ergonomic tips I write about are directly related to improving posture at a computer. We are our own primary caretakers. Do your research. Make good decisions. And be the best advocate possible for your own healthcare.
Standing Desk Posture Mistakes and Fixes
Let’s take a look at the standing desk posture mistakes in the above photo. The first 2 are my most common standing desk posture errors to avoid.
Standing Posture Mistake 1: Elbow level is too low.
His elbow level is almost acceptable in my opinion. It’s even with his keyboard, mouse, and desk level. I used to work with my elbow level below my desk level. This was a painful posture mistake. It caused chronic muscle tension throughout my biceps, shoulders, and chest.
Standing Posture Fix 1: Elbow level should be slightly higher than desk level.
My personal preference would be to lower his desk a couple inches. This will require less muscle activation from his biceps to put this hands on the keyboard and mouse. His biceps would be more relaxed. He’d be less likely to suffer from shoulder pain due to repetitive strain injuries. Check out my article titled How to Avoid Shoulder Pain at a Computer to do a deeper dive on this topic.
Standing Posture Mistake 2: Monitor screen is too low.
The other standing desk posture mistake in this photo is the monitor height is too low. Plus, once the desk is lowered a couple inches to correct his elbow height and desk level, the top of the monitor screen would then be even lower. I used to work with a low monitor, 8 hours a day, for years. It caused neck pain and eye strain.
Standing Posture Fix 2: Raise monitor until eye level is at the top of the screen.
I would fix this by raising my monitor screen. I did a simple internet search for “monitor riser” and found an option. Or you could do it yourself and make some kind of platform to go underneath your monitor. I’ve even seen companies that sell empty boxes that are used to specifically lift monitors. They come at the exact height you need it, which can vary for each of us. As long as the top of the monitor screen is even with eye level.
If you are working from a laptop monitor screen, don’t just raise your laptop. This may correct your eye level, but it would mess up your elbow level because your keyboard and mouse would be too high. Instead of raising your laptop, I would invest in an external monitor to plug your laptop into. The importance of proper monitor height and positioning is a necessity for correct posture at a standing desk.
The above photo is a little more complex. I would lower her desk a couple inches too. This would raise her elbow level slightly higher than her desk level. But other than that, this photo could be classified as both poor, or good, standing computer posture. Read below to see the explanation.
Standing Posture Mistake 3: Standing with legs unevenly distributing weight.
Notice how the user above has one leg bent and relaxed. Her other leg is straight and supporting the majority of her body weight. It would be very bad to stand like this for long periods of time. However, this could also be seen as a healthy standing computer posture (see Posture Fix 3 below).
Standing Posture Fix 3: Either stand with legs neutral, or make sure to switch to your other leg evenly throughout the day.
It’s okay to take a load off one leg for a while by bending the other leg. But only if we balance it out and switch to our rested leg for an equal amount of time. Otherwise, muscle tension will pull most of our body to one side over the long term.
Standing Posture Mistake 4: Standing on a hard floor.
A few months after I first started standing at my computer desk, I felt knee pain. I work from home and the floor underneath my desk is very hard. I work barefoot most of the time. But even though being barefoot can be a good thing when we are outdoors, it can be a very bad thing when we are standing on a hard floor for long periods of time.
Standing Posture Fix 4: Use an anti-fatigue mat.
I suddenly remembered working a job I had in college where I had to stand on concrete all day. They had an anti-fatigue mat for us to stand on. After standing on concrete for long periods of time, I’d walk over to that anti-fatigue mat and feel a huge sense of physical relief.
Fast forward to today, this is exactly what I was doing to myself at my own standing computer desk. I immediately hopped on Amazon and searched “anti-fatigue mat.” I found one for about $14. It was delivered the next day. After only a few days of standing on it, my knee pain decreased significantly. The role of an anti-fatigue mat turned out to be a standing desk fatigue solution that also helped me maintain good posture for longer periods of time.
Standing Posture Mistake 5: Standing too long.
We can use a lot of intention to have correct posture at our standing desk. Correct footwear, anti-fatigue mat, correct elbow level, correct eye level, etc. Despite practicing all these ergonomic assets, we still shouldn’t stand too long. We would just be creating different injuries, compared to those we’d have if we were sitting at a computer desk 8 hours a day.
Standing Posture Fix 5: Switch from sit to stand positions multiple times throughout the day.
How long you should stand at a standing desk depends on a few things. And it varies for each of us.
I like to be conscious of my mental clarity. Am I thinking clearly? Have I made a number of mistakes in my work?
I also consider how I feel physically. Does anything hurt or do I feel tired?
And finally, what is my work productivity like? Am I getting things done quickly or is it a struggle?
All of these variables help me discern whether or not to switch from a sit to stand position, or vice versa. I usually don’t work more than an hour in the same position. Sometimes less, sometimes slightly longer. But only if I’m productive and getting quality work done.
Standing Workstation Health Benefits
In my experience, learning how to use a standing desk properly has become an asset in my computer ergonomics practice.
The health benefits I’ve experienced include:
- Decreased computer-related pain
- Decreased muscle tension
- Improved blood flow
- Increased mental clarity
- Improved energy
- Improved work productivity
- Improved posture, regardless if I’m sitting, standing, or exercising.
One of my favorite health benefits of standing workstations is my increased work productivity. I used to sit in the same compromised, vulnerable, poor computer posture. I’d sit there 8 hours a day for years. Correct posture at a standing desk (in moderation) has become a valuable asset to my computer ergonomics practice.
To learn how to set up your standing desk for optimal ergonomics, read my article titled, Standing Desk Accessories.
THANKS FOR YOUR INTEREST IN COMPUTER POSTURE.
If you’ve read this far, congratulations! You’re taking valuable steps to reduce computer-related injuries by improving your posture. That’s something to be very proud of!
If you liked this article on standing desk posture mistakes and fixes, check out my book titled 45 Ways to Improve Computer Posture.
This book is a great supplement to the article you just read. In addition to correct posture, you’ll learn computer user health tips about breathing, hydration, and sleep quality. All of these are directly related to how good (or bad) our computer posture is. Because healthy sitting posture doesn’t just happen when we’re at our desk.
I wrote this book to be the resource I wish I had back in 2002, when I first started sitting at a computer for 8+ hours a day.
Go to SittingPosture.com/book to learn more.
Take care,
Todd Bowen