Could Standing at Your Desk Improve Your Health and Wellbeing?
Our yoga teacher is always extolling the virtues of the standing desk. Not a session goes by without a reference to the benefits of not spending the day sitting crooked on a chair - but simply standing to work without effort or strain.
But could a standing desk really be the answer for many desk workers? Nick Scott White, MD of iwantastandingdesk.com was able to demonstrate to us exactly how the standing desk could help when we met at the Back Pain show, Olympia.
The simple idea is that the desk can be wound-up to the desired height, so that elbows and forearms are horizontal on the desk and everything is in balance. During the demonstration Nick was able to highlight all the subtle movements and body shifts that we made while doing the simplest desk top task.
Far from standing still and getting stiff with backache, we were in constant motion, shifting weight, twisting our bodies and moving around - all calorie burning exercise that we do not get when seated at our desk.
Throughout the day the desk can be lowered slightly to accommodate any tiring muscles but it is advised that perching is better than sitting, so a bar stool makes a good replacement for the swivel chair, allowing rest without the 'slump'.
For Nick, it all started on a Saturday afternoon in Starbucks, while in conversation with a personal trainer who, for the first time since having a baby, had started to lose weight through using a standing desk. 
This became the start of a personal journey for Nick, who had previously never even heard of a standing desk. And as it happened he couldn’t find a standing desk that he truly liked, in the price area he wanted - so Nick decided to make his own.
Initially Nick wanted to see if he could actually work standing up so constructed what can only be described as 4 square "jacks" (this is where the name Jack Desks originates from) and hoisted his desk on to them!
They worked temporarily but long enough to turn Nick into a complete convert. The increased energy and alertness that he found from standing at his desk won him over and Nick's eureka moment of deciding that "I want a standing desk" was the creation of the name that stuck. With help from some great people and bucket loads of persistence Nick now has a great product range that in every area possible has been sourced British.
The Jack Desk is simple, strong, elegant and fun, offering good value and most importantly can inspire people and make them feel great - physically, mentally and emotionally. Visit https://iwantastandingdesk.com to see the whole range.
iwantastandingdesk.com Supporting the Tutudesk Campaign
In 2007 Nick Scott White (MD) went to South Africa to complete the charity motorbike ride "Enduro Africa" and during this time, the organisers were involved in assisting local but extremely remote schools with equipment. On that particular trip they were assisting by providing desks. All the charity entrants 'put their hands in their pockets' and clubbed together to buy the whole school the desks they desperately needed and deliver them to the children.
Nick explained that the children's reaction stays with him to this day - and from Day 1 wanted iwantastandingdesk.com to give back. Nick is delighted to team up with such an amazing charity as Tutudesk (named after its patron Archbishop Desmond Tutu).
"It's as simple as this… iwantastandingdesk.com will pledge a Tutudesk on behalf of our fantastic customers for every jackdesk sale…"
Nick Scott White
So whilst you're getting fitter and healthier, a child in Sub-Saharan Africa is getting a better education and life. For more information on the Tutudesk campaign please visit https://www.tutudesk.org/