Do Sitting, Standing, or Treadmill Desks Impact Psychobiological Indicators of Work Productivity?

Background: This pilot study investigated the links between psychobiological indicators of work productivity, prolonged desk sitting, and conditions whereby office workers were able to interrupt sitting using a sit stand or treadmill desk. Methods: Twenty participants visited our laboratory and completed their own desk work in counterbalanced sit-only, sit stand (Varidesk Pro Plus 48(TM)), and sit walk conditions (Infiniti TR1200-DTSTM). Steady-state visually evoked potentials calculated from electroen-cephalography recordings during a set task at the end of the workday assessed attentional resource. Salivary cortisol samples were taken during the morning and afternoon to measure stress response. Within-subject analyses were used to compare work productivity indicators relative to condition. Results: No significant differences in mean steady-state visually evoked potential amplitude were observed, although attentional resource allocation was found to be the most effective following the sit stand [1.01 (0.46) mu V] compared with the sit walk [0.9 (0.28) mu V] and sit-only [0.91 (0.32)mu V] conditions. The mean magnitude of decrease in cortisol was most apparent when workers used treadmill (1.5 nmol/L; P = .007) and sit stand (1.6 nmol/L; P = .001) desks, and least evident in the sit-only condition (1.0 nmol/L; P = .146). Conclusions: The findings highlight the potential benefits of standing or active deskwork to the allocation of attentional resources and the regulation of stress.