L Casey Chooswood, MD, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and NIOSH, is this morning’s keynote speaker at the AIHce. Dr. Chooswood is in the midst of an interesting experiment.

Recently, NIOSH launched an internal NIOSH pilot program to explore the use of sit and stand work stations as part of a workplace health and wellbeing initiative to reduce sedentary work in U.S. workplaces.

A sit-stand workstation allows the user to intermittently sit or stand while working on the computer, participating in a conference call, or performing other work.  The customizable workstation allows users to easily transition between a seated and standing work position multiple times throughout the day.

Some of the possible health benefits reported with regular use of sit-stand workstations:

• Standing more while at work decreases the amount of time spent in sedentary work
• Standing more helps relieve pressure on the lower back, buttocks and legs, and may help reduce compression of the spine arising from long periods of sitting
• Standing more may improve energy levels
• Standing more frequently may improve cognition
• Standing may increase circulation and lead to better blood flow to the brain and other organs
• Standing more burns more calories than sitting
• Standing more may assist with energy balance and aid in weight management
• Standing more may improve bone density over time
• Standing more may promote better sleep

The program is underway with 34 NIOSH volunteers in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Washington, D.C., Denver, Morgantown and Pittsburgh selected for the program.