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Back and neck pain, be gone.
At this point, most of us are fairly familiar with work-from-home life. We roll out of bed a few minutes before our first meeting of the day, slip into our finest pair of cozy sweatpants and the same hoodie we wear every day, and somehow we still manage to get enough work done in the day to avoid being fired.
There are plenty of things about working from home that are certainly an improvement from having to go into the office every day (namely, the commute). But if there's one thing that traditional offices got right, it's the innovation that is the standing desk.
A standing desk is designed to allow you to stand while working, which experts say is better for your posture than sitting. When you sit, many people hunch their back and are looking down at their computers. Over time, this poor posture can lead to back and neck pain (also known as "tech neck"), which leaves you feeling creaky, achy, and stiff as soon as you get off the clock.
The average human head weighs almost 12 pounds, similar to the size of a bowling ball. When your neck is bent in a 45 degree-angle looking down at your computer, your head can exert up to 50 pounds of force on your neck. This constant force contributes to strained joints and muscles in your neck and shoulders that no amount of stretching or screen breaks can undo.
To alleviate this tension in the body, consider upgrading your workspace to an ergonomic standing desk, which encourages a well-aligned posture that doesn't leave you feeling all tangled up inside by the end of your workday. Before we get into the best standing desks of 2022, we'll answer a few of the more common burning questions you have about working upright.
Multiple studies support the benefits of standing desk, which include increased productivity and lowering your risk of adverse health conditions caused by sedentary habits. Another study published by the CDC found that use of a sit-stand desk reduced upper back and neck pain by 54% after just 4 weeks. Additionally, people who use standing desks report feeling like they have more energy throughout the day. Standing for a few hours every day can improve the quality of your work day, which in turn improves the quality of your life.
Using a standing desk encourages people to switch from a sitting position to a standing position every hour or so, which experts say is the best way to reduce pain and strain of sitting. Try to spend one hour standing for every one to two hours of sitting. The key is to switch it up often—you don't want your body to get too comfortable in one position, which could lead to tense muscles.
A proper standing desk allows you to keep your arms at a 90-degree angle and your wrists level, reducing strain on your wrists. You also wan to adjust the height of your monitors so that your eyes are looking across at the top third of the monitor comfortably.
Read more: Work From Home Essentials
The UPLIFT standing desk is one of the most customizable standing desks on the market, and is adjustable for people between 5′4″ and 7. They offer a wide variety of desktop styles to choose from, including laminate, bamboo, solid wood, and live edge wood.
Read more: Home Office Essentials
This sleek, minimal standing desk is one of the stylish options we've seen so far. While many standing desks look commercial, veering into clinical, this is one we'd be proud to put on display. If your home office is out in the open, this one might be worth the investment.
Not sure if you want to commit the square footage to a standing desk? This adjustable standing desk converter sits on an existing desktop (like your kitchen counter) to turn any surface into a standing desk. This portable workspace holds up to two large monitors, a laptop, and more. It also features a retractable ergonomic keyboard tray to prevent wrist soreness.
This standing desk is more like a standing conference table. At 60 inches wide, it can hold multiple monitors, books, and notepads to ensure everything you need is right at your fingertips. With a speed of 1.5 inches per second, the desk can move anywhere between 29” to 49” with a push of a button.
This commercial-grade quality standing desk is built tough and designed to last. No more coffee stains on your nice household countertops: a durable laminate finish makes cleaning up a breeze. Adjustable from 25" to 50.5" high, you're just one touch away from your perfect standing desk height.
This sleek and simple desk from Jarvis features an eco-friendly bamboo top, which is lightweight (just in case you ever want to move your standing desk) and resists staining. The adjustable lift system can be changed manually, or it also saves your favorite pre-selected heights.
For half the price of many of the standing desks on this list, you can get this chic option from Wayfair that fits easily in small spaces. The laminate wood desktop is resistant to water, chipping, stains, scratches, and fading, so you can eat and drink without stepping away from your work.
Standing desks tend to be on the expensive side, thanks to the motorized element. That's why we love this affordable option from FLEXISPOT, which comes in under $250 and has a fair amount of desktop space. The motor lift mechanism can adjust the desk from 28" to 47.6", while an industrial-grade steel frame ensures a solid surface.