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Walking Treadmill Desks FAQs
Are Treadmill Desks Safe to Use in the Workplace?
First off, yes treadmill desks are safe to use. For the most part, walking on a treadmill desk poses all the same difficulties as walking elsewhere in an office, albeit with potentially more multitasking depending on the user. However, I'd like to think as a whole we are being more adapt to walking and multitasking what with the abundance and ease of cell phones. Rarely do you find someone walking down the street with a smartphone not tethered to their hand. Basically, walking on a treadmill desk while typing on your computer or while on a conference call is much like walking down the street while using your smartphone. In fact, without the added obstacles of other people, cars, bicyclers, etc. it is probably more safe.
Even so, we understand the concern for HR in adding them into the workplace. After all, walking while working is a fairly new concept and few people have had the opportunity to take a treadmill desk for a test drive so to speak. Because of this, at LifeSpan, we have added a variety of safety features to our treadmill desks.
What advice do you have for someone that has never used a treadmill desk?
As with any other product, a treadmill desk should be used solely as it was manufactured to be used. Doing so will help eliminate unnecessary mishaps.
You'll want to wear comfortable attire if you plan on walking for large periods of time. This includes both shoes and clothing. I personally keep a pair of tennis shoes next to my desk that a switch into every time before I begin walking. I don't know how many times I've seen pictures of women wearing 3-inch heels while using a treadmill desk, but I would definitely advise against doing so. You will want to wear comfortable, breathable clothing. Even though you will most likely be walking somewhere between 1.5 and 2.0 MPH (and likely won't break a sweat,) walking for long periods in skin-tight clothing is never enjoyable.
How Quiet is a Treadmill Desk?
LifeSpan treadmill desks are very quiet, especially when compared to fitness treadmills. Walk in soft-soled shoes at a comfortable pace and properly maintain your unit to reduce those extra noises. Read more.
7 Benefits of a Treadmill Desk
- Improves Mood and Reduces Stress: Regular exercise can help boost your mood and subsequently decrease anxiety through the brains release of endorphins in your body. These endorphins reduce your perception of pain and trigger a positive feeling in your body similar to the effects of opiates. Psychologically, exercise can also increase your confidence by allowing you to reach certain fitness/health goals as well as provide a distraction from your worries.
- Increases Creativity: Studies have shown that exercise is directly linked to creativity. Research conducted at Standford University had volunteers complete a test involving tasks like rapidly coming up with alternative uses for common objects, such as a button. They were then asked to complete a similar exam while simultaneously walking on a treadmill at a slow comfortable pace. From this they were able to conclude that almost every student preformed substantially better. On average, the subjects were able to come up with 60% more uses for the object when walking rather than sitting.
- Increases Productivity: Research conducted by the University of Minnesota (UMN) and published in the journal Obesity analyzed the effects of walking on a treadmill throughout the workday. They concluded that the work performance of people who used a treadmill desk for a year didn't decline after a very brief, initial adjustment to the change. In fact, the study found that both overall employee productivity and health improved. Stating that work quality, mental performance and time management all improved on days when employees exercised.
- Promotes a Healthy Body Weight: Walking, like other forms of exercise, burns calories. Albeit not as many calories as running or biking burns, but walking still requires energy and therefore provides a calorie burn. For weight loss, increasing your intensity level, increasing incline level or walking for longer duration's will burn more calories. However, when using a walking workstation for the first time, you'll want to start out slow and gradually increase your speed and walking duration over a couple weeks time.
- Reduces the Risk of and Helps Manage Type 2 Diabetes: Individuals living with type 2 diabetes have too much glucose in their blood, either because their body doesn’t produce enough insulin to process it, or because their body doesn’t use insulin properly. Either way, exercise can help reduce blood glucose levels and also help people with type 2 diabetes avoid long-term complications.
- Lowers Blood Pressure: Like other forms of exercise, walking helps increase blood flow which in return decreases blood pressure. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, people with high blood pressure (hypertension) have lower blood pressure readings for up to 22 hours following a single walking session. For individuals that incorporate walking into their daily schedule, they may see decreases as high as 5 to 10 mmHg in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings.
- Helps Maintain Strong Bones: Weight-bearing exercises where you are working against gravity while staying upright are one of the best ways to build up and maintain bone density. These can be either high-impact or low-impact exercises. Examples of high-impact weight-bearing exercises include: dancing, jogging, running, jumping rope, etc.; and examples of low-impact weight-bearing exercises include: walking, hiking, using an elliptical or stair stepper machine, low-impact aerobics, etc..
