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Get Fit in the Office with a Treadmill Desk

Science Fields

Every office needs one as beach season draw nears!

 

Studies confirm its health benefits. If you want to get slim the easy – and cheap – way, switch your persuasive power to high gear and talk your boss into providing one of these. As the adverse effects of being nailed to the desk become ever more clear, office workers are turning their eyes to treadmill desks. And bosses need not fear a plunge in outputs. Results of tests carried out by two scientists from the Brigham Young University show that a slight decline in work performance is offset manifold by the health benefits they provide.

In the tests, exercise science professor James LeCheminant and neuroscientist Michael Larson measured the difference in performance levels of 75 healthy individuals divided equally to work at treadmill desks and regular desks for 45 minutes. The results displayed only a 9 percent drop in cognitive processing speed and 13-word-per-minute drop in typing in the performance of 37 participants working on the treadmill running at 2.4 km per hour, compared to measured levels for the regular desk workers.

In the study published in PLOS One, researchers note that in retaining their learning, those working on treadmill did not lag behind the regular desk users.

Pointing out the need for further studies, they say repeated tests may show whether the slight performance drop disappears completely as the users gain practice. 

 

REFERENCES

  • 1. “How to approach your boss about a treadmill desk”, Brigham Young University, 21 April 2015