Build a standing desk to boost your health

How much do you sit throughout the day? If you have an average office job, the answer might shock you. You might spend lot’s of your days sitting down. That, researchers are discovering, is far from beneficial. Think about a recent article from NPR. The news organization talked to a researcher at South Carolina University who completed a report showing that men who sat greater than 23 hours per week faced a 64 percent higher risk of dying from heart related illnesses than others who set less than 11 hours each week.

The Good News

The message is clear: Get off your butt. Luckily, you can reduce your sitting hours by building a standing desk. A standing desk — which happens to be exactly what it actually sounds like, a desk at which you stand as opposed to sit — is far from pricey. It is possible to assemble it with low-priced parts from Ikea. Here’s the recipe, thanks to the Lifehacker blog.

The Easy Way

If you only require a simple desk, Lifehacker suggests building a standing desk that uses Ikea’s Utby legs. Though this desk is going to be smaller, you’ll be able to fit your laptop, monitor and keyboard easily enough on top of it. You ought to have space, too, to have a lamp and storage. To construct this desk, buy a Vika Amon Top, Utby under frame, Ekby Jarpen shelf and one set of Capita legs. You will find these parts at Ikea for the total of around $140. Best of all? Based on the Lifehacker story, you can put this desk with simply a screwdriver.

A Bit More Complicated

You don’t have to settle for a homemade standing desk with a narrow top. You can move up to one having a wider top. And you can do this while still confining your desk-part shopping to your nearest Ikea. First, as Lifehacker advises, find two packages of Capita brackets, one Lack shelf, one Vika Amon tabletop and five Vika Byske legs at your Ikea. Then grab your power drill and get busy. Lifehacker ranks this desk as a “medium” one to build, as a result it ought not to be overly hard to construct.