Students: working while standing improves cognitive abilities

Working standing up, in front of raised desks, is in the era of time. The benefits of this practice have been demonstrated repeatedly by studies. Working while standing would be good for tackling poor posture, back pain, obesity, and even cardiovascular health, and therefore could be a simple measure to tackle a sedentary lifestyle.

But the benefits would go much further, because standing while working would also improve the cognitive abilities of individuals, according to a study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

Benefits for memory

Researchers, university Texas A&M School of Public Health in the United States, wanted in particular to understand if the fact of working while standing could improve the memory of the students, and lead to transformations in the functioning of the frontal lobe, responsible for the planning, the movement and the language.

34 first-year college students were recruited for neurocognitive testing. Four exercises were offered to them, while sensors, placed on their skulls, measured their brain activity. The measurements were taken twice during the school year. In the meantime, the classrooms had been equipped with desks for standing work.

The researchers noted that the participants performed better on the tests the second time around. An evolution that reflects an improvement in their cognitive abilities, in particular memory after the period spent working standing.

These results must now be validated by larger population studies. However, according to the researchers, this early work could make it possible to generalize the raised desks in the classrooms in order to facilitate learning and improve academic performance.

#Student : Standing work, good for the body, cognitive abilities and school performance! https://t.co/QIJlvonj93 #health

– Pourquoidocteur (@Pourquoidocteur) January 19, 2016