Under the desk a step, the treadmill or even an exercise bike to pedal between an email and a conference call. It is the ‘active workstation’ tested in the USA by the Mayo Clinic in 4 versions. And the results for the experts speak clearly: in addition to general health, doing physical activity while busy in the office also improves performance at work, cognitive performance. The study, published in the ‘Journal of the American Heart Association’, investigates how to reduce sedentary time and improve mental processes at work without reducing work performance. That’s because prolonged inactivity, whether at work or home, increases the risk of preventable chronic diseases, the authors note.
“Our findings suggest that it is possible to ‘mix’ movement with office work that was previously done during long periods of sitting,” says Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, a preventive cardiology specialist at the Mayo Clinic and senior author of the study. How to do it? By modifying your own ‘fitness-friendly’ desk. “Active workstations can offer a way to potentially improve cognitive performance and overall health, simply by moving around the workplace,” highlights Lopez-Jimenez. The randomized clinical trial involved 44 participants and the 4 office ‘fit’ versions were evaluated for 4 consecutive days at the Dan Abraham Healthy Living Center of the Mayo Clinic.
The settings included a stationary or sitting position on the first day, followed by three active modes (the ‘desk’ adapted for standing, equipped with a walking mat or with a stepper) in random order. The researchers analyzed the participants’ neurocognitive function based on 11 assessments that considered reasoning, short-term memory and concentration. Fine motor skills were assessed through an online typing speed test and other tests.
Result: When participants used active workstations, their brain function improved or remained the same, and their typing speed slowed only slightly. However, typing accuracy was not affected. The study revealed better reasoning scores when standing, stepping and walking than when sitting.
“A sedentary lifestyle,” concludes Lopez-Jimenez, “is like smoking when it comes to cardiovascular health, and office workers may spend much of their 8-hour work day sitting in front of a computer screen and keyboard. These findings indicate that there are more ways to do this work while staying productive and mentally sharp.We would do well to consider an active workstation in prescribing for the prevention and treatment of conditions such as obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes“.
