#Standing desk converter wirecutter series

The boosts were significant too, with the students showing an approximate 7 to 14 percent improvement in cognitive performance across several executive function and working memory tasks after half a year of standing lessons. 'Changes in corresponding brain activation patterns were also observed.' The results, reported in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, showed that 'continued use of standing desks was associated with significant improvements in executive function and working memory capabilities,' according to one of the team, Ranjana Mehta. The two tests were roughly half a year apart, during which time the students involved continuously used the standing desks. Executive functions are the kinds of cognitive functions we use to analyse tasks, and they're directly related to academic skills such as our ability to memorise and comprehend facts, organise our thoughts, and solve problems.Įxecutive functions are largely regulated in frontal brain regions, and the researchers used functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to image the students' brains as they did the tests.

#Standing desk converter wirecutter series

The researchers recruited 34 freshman high school students to assess their executive functions via a series of computerised tests at two points during the school year. 'This is the first examination of students' cognitive responses to the standing desks, which to date have focused largely on sedentary time as it relates to childhood obesity.' 'There has been lots of anecdotal evidence from teachers that students focused and behaved better while using standing desks,' said Mark Benden, one of the researchers from Texas A&M University. A new study in the US has found that high school students demonstrated improved cognitive functioning after half a year of using standing desks, prior to which they had only used conventional sitting desks during lessons.