Published: May 24, 2026

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You've probably heard the expression "sitting is the new smoking" in reference to the risks of prolonged sedentary postures. This phrase was coined by Dr. James Levine of the Mayo Clinic, to bring awareness to the idea that sitting for too long without intermittent breaks may contribute to chronic disease and even premature death. It's possible the phrase is a bit alarmist - smoking is probably worse - however, the analogy is good regardless, seeing as prolonged sitting has been shown to increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, diabetes, various cancers, musculoskeletal disorders, varicose veins, deep vein thrombosis, anxiety, and depression, to name a few. On a public health scale, it can be argued that sitting is a MUCH larger problem than smoking, seeing as a significantly greater number of people sit all day, versus the number of people who smoke. 

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This is why standing desks are so popular now. The standing desk gives the worker the opportunity to stand intermittently throughout the work day to mitigate the risks associated with prolonged sitting. The important thing to be mindful of with respect to standing desks is that standing is not necessarily better than sitting, it's just different. Standing for too long can cause compressive injury in the weight bearing joints (ankles, knees, hips) increasing the risk of degenerative change, or circulatory issues such as pooling of fluids in the lower extremities, varicose veins, etc. The purpose of using a standing desk is to get you MOVING. How frequently you change positions throughout the day is much more important than how long you stand for. In theory, you should not sit for more than half an hour at a time, and you should not stand for more than half an hour at a time. Break postures should be a minimum of 5 minutes. For example, if you sit for 30 minutes, then try to stand up for at least 5 minutes, after which you can sit down again. If you want to stand for longer, that's fine too, but ideally not more than half an hour. 

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It is important to note that this does not apply to walking. If you are on your feet and walking, you can obviously go for more than half an hour, because your body is MOVING. Walking for hours at a time is healthy and encouraged. It's the static postures - sitting, standing - that need to be avoided. 

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It's also important to note that any movement can be considered a break. Going to the bathroom for example, is a break. If you've been sitting for half an hour, then get up to go to the bathroom, once you get back to your desk you don't necessarily need to stand up for at least 5 minutes because you've just had a body break by going to the bathroom. The more mobile your job is, the less need there is for a standing desk. If your job has you getting up frequently for meetings, walking to the photocopier, retrieving files, etc. then you may not need a standing desk at all, because your day is filled with frequent micro-breaks anyway. I would also encourage you to invent micro-breaks - stand up while taking a phone call, or while reading a document. Likewise, set a timer on your phone to remind you every 30 minutes to take a short break. 

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A final important point - if you sit all day without many breaks, but you exercise regularly before or after work, you might think this will offset the risks of having sat down all day. Unfortunately, the research does not support this. While staying in shape and exercising regularly does reduce the risk of various chronic diseases, there is always going to be an increased relative risk of disease if you sit all day, regardless of exercise levels. 

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