Standing Desks Help Build Better Brains

Research continues to emerge regarding the health benefits of spending less time in a seated position. A new study from Texas A&M University has drawn a link between standing and improved brainpower.

The primary purpose of the report was to determine what impact, if any, standing-biased desks might have on executive functioning, memory and frontal-brain function on 34 high-school freshmen. The students were given neurocognitive tests in the fall and spring, and a data comparison showed that executive function and memory scores improved between the first test and the second.

“These findings provide the first preliminary evidence on the neurocognitive benefits of standing desks, which to date have focused largely on energy expenditure,” explained the researchers. They suggested that if these results were backed up by future research using larger samples and comparison groups, it could indicate that switching to stand-biased desks in classrooms—a simple environmental change—could enhance children’s cognitive development and positively affect educational outcomes.

The study was published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2016; 13 [1], 59).