The phrase “sitting is the new smoking” entered the public consciousness in recent years – a faintly hyperbolic but effective warning from health professionals that our sedentary lifestyles are leading to higher rates of obesity, heart disease and related illnesses.
While not quite as harmful as lighting up, spending too much of your day working at a desk poses real long-term health risks. Enter the standing desk, a modern solution to the problem of prolonged hours spent tapping away in an office chair. I use one every day, although like an exercise bike that slowly evolves into a clothes horse, it’s been stuck in the sitting position for a while, shamefully.
But hey, does a standing desk really make a difference? Should I get back into the habit of elevating my desk, or should I just sit this one out? To learn more I spoke to an expert, Jo Baxter, senior physiotherapist and triage team leader at Nuffield Health, who tells me that the real issue isn’t sitting or standing, but something else entirely.
“The big issue for me isn’t sitting or standing, it’s staying sedentary for too long,” she explains. “The aches and pains people can present with are varied and individual, but ultimately they serve the same purpose: to communicate that tissues need physical and neurological input to survive and thrive. It’s a message to move.”
Marketed as an easy fix for everything from back pain and cardiovascular issues to poor concentration and dwindling energy levels, standing desks have rocketed in popularity in the last decade. But recent research has questioned these health claims, finding that swapping sitting for standing might not be the panacea we hoped for.
“Standing still for hours isn’t the same as being active,” Baxter says. “It’s just a different kind of inactivity. The research backs this up, showing no additional metabolic or cardiovascular benefits from prolonged standing and, potentially, demonstrating potential harm.”
Sitting might be the new smoking, but it turns out that standing is not the new sitting. This is why you’ll often see standing desks referred to as sit-stand or height-adjustable desks in 2025. Desks that can switch easily between standing and sitting modes allow you to change your body’s position regularly throughout the day, which experts agree is far better than staying in either stance for too long.
But while the health benefits of standing desks might not be as miraculous as once promised, their popularity has endured and their advocates – me among them – are convinced of their effects. You need only try one to feel some benefit. I’ve found that alternating between standing and sitting helps relieve tension that otherwise builds up throughout the day – and a regular change of posture acts like a mental reset button too, helping to refocus the mind.
Baxter agrees that this variety can be beneficial. “For some, this variation can break up the monotony of prolonged sitting, ease the build-up of stiffness and could leave you with a clearer head and more sustained concentration,” she says. “You may benefit from standing for more creative tasks which allows you to fidget and move more, whereas sitting may be suited to tasks that require a deeper focus.”
Ultimately, the key isn’t the desk itself, but how you use it. The healthiest approach is to mix sitting and standing with plenty of what Baxter calls “movement snacks” throughout the day. “A standing desk might feel like an upgrade, but it doesn’t address the real solution; moving regularly with purpose, throughout the day,” she says. “Think about those instinctive stretches we all do – rolling our shoulders back, reaching our arms over our heads. The key is to listen to those natural urges to move and act on them regularly, not only once stiffness kicks in.”
My standing desk might not be making me any healthier, but if it encourages me to switch up my position and take more movement snacks, I won’t be giving it up any time soon. Time to dust off that ‘desk go up’ button.
The real benefit of a standing desk isn’t just the standing part; it’s the ability to readily change your posture throughout the day. A desk that makes this transition a chore will likely end up stuck in the sitting position, but the FlexiSpot E8, which tops our list of the best standing desks, is a great example of a desk that gets it right.
The FlexiSpot E8 features a smooth and quick dual-motor system that makes the transition from sitting to standing seamless and almost silent. It has four programmable height presets, so rather than fiddling with buttons to find your perfect height, you simply press one button and the desk glides into your pre-saved position. And, by having four presets, you can share your desk with a family member or colleague and keep your preferred settings saved.
It’s also a sturdy and well-built piece of kit. Capable of supporting up to 125kg, it’ll handle even the most elaborate multi-monitor setups without breaking a sweat. Crucially, it feels rock-solid even when raised to its maximum height of 128cm.
“This minimalist desk with clean lines and plenty of desktop space is clearly made with work-from-home in mind,” said Jon Axworthy in their Flexispot E8 standing desk review. “It combines one of the most efficient motorised mechanisms we tested with straightforward assembly, which won’t take more than an hour.”
Want to learn more? Check out our full round-up of the best standing desks
