EKOBOR Health Tips

Here's a clever tip to get in shape that lazy people will appreciate, very simple and easy, stand more and sit less! In many scientific research, it showed that enzymes responsible for breaking down fat are suppressed when a person is sitting rather than standing, leading to fat being stored, rather than burned off. The enzymes in blood vessels of muscles responsible for fat burning are shut off within hours of not standing. 

Prolonged standing work is known to induce discomfort and the resulting muscle fatigue is associated with different health disorders, such as back pain, even in the absence of load manipulation.

Standing and moving lightly will re-engage the enzymes, but since people are awake 16 hours a day and work for 8 hours, it stands to reason that when people sit too much, they are losing opportunity for optimal metabolism through the day. Not everyone hit the gym and exercise vigorously everyday, standing could make an important contribution to a person's weight and fitness. Standing desk is a good tool to help you stay fit at office, you just need to alternate sitting and standing every 30 mins. There is a large amount of energy associated with standing everyday that can't easily be compensated for by 30 to 60 mins at the gym.

Researchers say that gentle activity such as standing and pacing around while working at office is just as important, if not more so, than strenuous exercise. If you stand up, you are much more likely to end up pacing or pottering around and that seems to make a crucial difference. 

This is a good news for people who see little benefit from exercise, as well as those who do not have time to exercise regularly, standing at work by standing desk is a clever way to workout at office.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-505305/Could-simply-standing-good-workout-gym.html

http://www.sms.hest.ethz.ch/research/past-research-projects/muscle-fatigue-at-work/effects-of-prolonged-standing-work-on-lower-leg-muscle-fatigue.html

Most people haven't heard of the science of ergonomics, and many of them will think it only applies to office workstation. In fact what is ergonomics?

“Ergonomics” comes from the Greek words érgo, which means work, and nómoi, which means laws. So may think it only applies to work, but it has a much wider application as it doesn’t only “work” at work, you may also need it at home since home office is becoming a trend. More and more clients bought EKOBOR standing desk for their home offices.

The International Ergonomics Association (IEA) defined ergonomics (human factors) as the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design with a result of optimising human well-being and overall system performance".Ergonomics helps harmonize things that interact with people in terms of people's needs, abilities and limitations.

In essence, ergonomics is making sure that you have the correct posture, and that your equipment (such as your desk and chair) helps you in achieving this. 

Healthy employees, Happy employees.

Source: https://www.health24.com/Lifestyle/Healthy-workplace/Employee-wellbeing/what-is-ergonomics-and-could-it-make-you-a-happier-worker-20170908

https://www.iea.cc/whats/index.html

Childhood obesity is one of the most serious public health challenges in these days, the problem is global, also happening in many low and middle income countries in 21st century. The prevalence has increased at an alarming rate. In 2016, the number of overweight children under the age of five is estimated to be over 41 million, almost half of all overweight children under 5 lived in Asia. We all need to reflect on ourselves, is it the problem of our lifestyle?

Overweight and obese children are likely to stay obese into adulthood and more likely to develop diabetes and cardiovascular disease at a younger age. Overweight and obesity and their related disease are largely preventable. Physical inactivity is one of the reasons of obesity. It is suggested that standing desk is one of the most useful tool to encourage children to move around and stand more to burn calories. Other than the health reasons, children can also stay more productive for their academic work.

Source: WHO

http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/childhood/en/

We adults already know that ergonomics is beneficial for our bodies, minds and spirits, we always ask for standing desk at office, so that we can improve our health and enhance productivity at work. We have learnt from published research and our own experiences about the importance of proper posture, effective lighting and ergonomic furniture, how about kids? Do they need it? 

They do need it. Children benefit from ergonomics in four major ways, long-term health, movement, lighting and safety. Ergonomics can be defined as how an environment supports the natural movement of those who occupy it, it's essential for children, they need movement and fun, an ergonomic environment that empowers their natural movements is extremely beneficial to their development. 

Many children use family computer for many hours but these home workstations are often designed for adults. 63% of 9-17 years old prefer web surfing to watching television. Ergonomic experts, school technology specialists and medical professionals say that incorrect posture at the computer puts kids at risk for wrist, neck, back and shoulder problems.

Parents should care about their posture when they are using the computer. Standing desks for kids are their best choice to encourage them to alternate between sitting and standing, movement is critical for kids. 

All in all, ergonomics is not for any age group, it benefits health, well-being, safety and productivity in children, teens, adults and seniors. Importance of setting up our environment to empower our bodies is an investment that is worthy of focus and practice.

Ergonomics is not only important for working adults, it is also important for kids. Due to technology advancement, kids are always attached to their devices, they need to learn healthy habits for using computer, these habits will protect them from injuries. 

Younger and younger children are using home computer, often these young children are sitting in a chair with their legs and feet dangling and they might be using keyboard and mouse in an awkward posture because they are sitting too low. Parents play a crucial role in helping kids acquire proper healthy habits for computer use, here are some tips for parents. 

With reference to Cornell University Ergonomics Web, in order to keep kids healthy, parents can use the MVP approach.

• Manage computer use time. Parents should monitor how long the computer is used and try to limit continuous use to blocks of no more than 30 minutes, they can never stop playing their computer games or series if no one stops them. Parents can encourage your kids to briefly do something different for a few minute, taking frequent short breaks allow the muscles to recuperate and avoids fatigue-related injuries. 
• Vary the activities that kids do to use different muscle groups. Teach them to change their body positions periodically, every 30 mins your kids should stand up, walk around and rest the muscles used in typing and mouse work. Also encourage them to look at objects at different distances.
• Posture during computer use is especially important, parents should help them to sit and work in a relaxed, neutral posture. Replacing their tables to height adjustable ones can encourage them to stand for every 30 mins.

Source: http://ergo.human.cornell.edu/cukkhinfo.htm

In Hong Kong, the Advisory Group on Health Effects of Use of Internet and Electronic Screen Products convened by the Department of Health released a report in 2014 with recommendations on limiting "screen time" and advocating "going outdoors and being physical active" for children and adolescents. In addition to efforts of the Government and community sectors, role of parents and carers are equally significant in overcoming childhood obesity. They should stay alert to their children's diets and ample opportunities for children to exercise.

So, parents can just urge them to exercise? stop them from playing video games? It might not work well. However, change their desk to height adjustable desk might help a bit. To help reduce the screen time and increase exercise time, we can't just force them, we can make a minor change on their desk.

It is very simple, when they play video games or watch series, by using standing desk, they can easily adjust the height by one button, they can switch their seated or standing posture freely, to stay physical active even when they are with their devices. This is the easiest way. Of course, they should not spend too much time on computers or phones, they still need to walk around or go outdoors for sunshine!

We have all been through the period at school, that we always hear teachers saying 'Sit Down'! Only naughty students will be requested to 'Stand up' as a kind of punishment! But now, things changed. We should forget about the 'Sit Down' and start to 'Stand Up'! Sit less and stand more will be the trend at school, no more sitting for 7 hours! Why not stand up to learn? Students can be more active in class!

Not saying that students should stand all the time at school, they can always alternate between seated and standing posture. All they need is height adjustable desk, each of them can adjust the height accordingly. Kids need to move, but often at school, they were told to stop moving, sit still, sit up, pay attention, but then, offering them with standing desks, they can have just enough movement and focus their mental energy at class, this also helps improve teaching quality. 

"If we can get in and start changing ... behaviors in children ... standing will become the norm, so when these individuals then go into the workplace, they'll hopefully expect similar furniture and will be reducing their overall sitting time, which hopefully should then have long-term benefits to health." 

Standing desk is a good investment on health, why not join us now?

Source: CNN

 https://edition.cnn.com/2015/12/10/health/standing-desks-impact-health-education/index.html

We all need active working culture at office, according to international research evidence, it is believed that excessive and prolonged sitting can lead to increased risk of various health problems. Heart disease, diabetes, mental health, cancers, backache, thrombosis, obesity, muscle degeneration, etc. Not everyone realize these, but sitting for 10 hours each day at office is slowly killing us. How to stay active and healthy at work? By staying active at work, you don't need to rely on coffee or snacks to stay awake and you will definitely become more productive!!

1. Try to get key leadership support within your organisation. Start your own campaign. It works!
2. Educate your colleagues about the dangers of prolonged and excessive sitting.
3. Create an environment that is supportive of change.
4. Keep moving around. Take frequent breaks.
5. Take phone calls standing up, this also boosts confidence and voice quality.
6. Try removing tables and chairs from meeting rooms. This leads to shorter meetings.
7. Take the stairs instead of the lift.
8. Walk to a colleague's desk, instead of emailing.
9. Stand during presentations or speeches.
10. Try taking a “Walking Meeting”.
11. Try a Sit-Stand desk.

Not only using a standing desk helps, there are still other approaches to stay active at work, join us to stay healthy at work!

Source: Active Working. http://activeworking.com/top_tips

When people choose which standing desk to buy, they consider the brand, price, durability, design, or materials, etc...Oh wait, why do they care about the materials? Some people do care about the materials used for producing the standing desk. They choose EKOBOR not just because of our Swedish brand background, affordable price with high durability or stylish Scandinavian design. They also choose us because of the powder coating technique, VOCs, chemical free materials, that are being used for production of EKOBOR standing desk. Our standing desk is 100% eco-friendly, we care about the environment!

Customers these days are aware of the true impact of painting on the environment, why is ZERO VOCs important? VOC is a general term referring to any organic substance with an initial boiling point less than or equal to 250 degrees Centigrade, that can be released from the paint into the air and thus may cause atmospheric pollution (European Union definition). VOC is definitely harmful to the environment, of course, some companies are able to offer more competitive price because of the harmful materials used with lower production cost, EKOBOR does not want to pollute our environment, we want to use the VOC-free paint to keep minimal impact on the environment.

Being environmentally-friendly is also one of our mission! Let's protect our environment together! 

Source: https://goo.gl/9ah6oS

After getting in touch with more and more customers, I found that not many people know how's the experience of using standing desk and you might also question a lot about it. To be honest, I don't know much about it before as well. So, today I would like to share my own experience of using standing desk.

Before using height adjustable desks, I always need to sit all day long at office from 9 to 6, which makes me sleepy and unproductive. In order to focus on my work, I have to rely on coffee or tea, which is not so good for my health, I got headache because of the overuse of caffeine. By the time I realize my spine problems caused during my pregnancy carry a pair of twins and sedentary lifestyle at work, I try to figure out a way to stop this from happening, what about investing in the desk and chair that I use all the time?

I started to look into research about ergonomics workstation on Google, I found that height adjustable table is the best solution to curb with my problem. By alternating between sitting and standing, I found that I am more energetic and productive at work. I can really stay fit at work too. Everyone experiences how sleepy it is when you need to sit at office to work after lunch right? Now, I don't have this problem, because I always stand for a while after lunch, no more big belly and no need to spend extra time to go to gym after work. Standing helps burn calories, 54 calories are burnt for a 6-hour day of standing, you can lose weight at work!

Let's build it as a habit, try to switch your work position of sitting and standing. Start to invest in your health, there is no harm of using a height adjustable table, why not give a try? 

Some people doubt that we are encouraging people to stand all day long, it also causes health problems. Yes, standing for too long is not something that we are advocating on. Indeed we are suggesting people to alternate between standing and sitting using our standing desk. Here are some tips for using standing desk correctly.

1. Be aware of your standing posture 

Just like what's shown in the above picture, you need to adjust your posture accordingly. While you are using computer, you need to ensure hands, wrists and forearms are parallel to the floor, shoulders are relaxed; computer is about an arm's length away, etc.. 

2. 1/2 Standing and sitting 

Everyone knows sitting is the new smoking, it is really bad for your health, it doesn't mean you should stand all day. Standing for too long will negatively affect leg muscles, tendons and other connective tissue, that may even cause varicose veins.This can be avoided by simply alternating between sitting and standing. 1/2 standing versus standing time appears to be optimal for comfort and energy levels, without affecting productivity. Every 1 to 2 hours you sit in your office, 1 hour should be spent standing, you can also alternate between sitting and standing every 30 to 60 minutes. That's why we got 1/2 standing on our logo.