Did you know the height of your desk can have a significant impact on your life? You may not realize it, but desks at the wrong height can affect your posture and productivity, and even your health. By making sure you have a desk that stands at the right height, you can stay safe from the many consequences that bad posture and position can bring.
Before we go into the best height for office desks, let’s look at why the height of your desk matters so much, to begin with.
Why Height Matters For Your Desk
Nowadays, we spend so much time in front of our computers. We’re already causing strain and stress to our eyes, and this can be pretty bad. But that’s not the only way computers can cause harm to us.
Everyone knows the feeling of spending too much time at their computer and getting up with severe pain in their shoulders and back. This is common because so many of us stay hunched over while we’re working. But there are plenty of other issues that computers cause – and many of these may not be as immediately noticeable as shoulder pain can.
All parts of our body are connected, and damage to one part can affect the rest of it too. Whether we realize it or not, we’d be bringing more trouble to ourselves if we ignore the pain in one part of the body because our work is not affected for now.
It may be your neck right now, but it could be your arms and wrists tomorrow.
The wrong height for your desk can cause tension in your shoulders and neck, and this pain can also spread to your arms, legs, back, and wrists. Sitting incorrectly in your chair because your desk is too high or too low is a common problem. Sitting in an uncomfortable position for long periods of time can put unnecessary pressure on your body and lead to more extreme conditions like permanent damage to your back, or spinal curve.
In fact, if you sit in the wrong position for too long, you may find that even when you stand, you stay in a similar position, which can make your posture even worse. Incorrect posture at your desk due to height can also result in problems like carpal tunnel syndrome, repetitive strain injury, and other such problems.
Besides just the physical health, a good desk at the right height will also help with improving productivity. There has been research around workplace design, and a good desk setup can improve performance by at least 16 percent. Having the right desk is therefore very important, and can protect you from various injuries and help with improving your performance.
How to Determine Ideal Desk Height
There is no one size fits all solution to this problem. After all, you can’t expect every desk to be perfect, because if there was one solution, then all desks would have it, and you wouldn’t be reading this article, to begin with.
But there isn’t one standard ideal size, which is why there are so many people who end up using desks at the wrong height and thus ending up with a multitude of health problems. Based on standards for ergonomic design, the ideal height is about 70-80 centimeters. However, this is not wholly correct. The real ideal height for a desk will depend on your height, as the user.
If you were using a desk at exactly 80 centimeters, taller people may have to use taller chairs, shorter people may have to use footrests, and they may still not be able to get the right position for the rest of your body. Any ‘standard’ desk will be very uncomfortable if your height is not taken into consideration. Because the height of the desk is what affects your posture and position, it should consider the following.
Position of Feet
When you’re sitting at your desk, your feet should be flat on the floor. Your knees should be either in line with your hips or slightly lower. Too low or too high can also cause pain and put pressure on your knees. Shorter people may even need footrests to accommodate themselves.
Position of Your Arms
The right height for your desk is where your arms are positioned at your sides. Your elbows should be resting on something and your forearm should be bent at a 90-degree angle. You shouldn’t be reaching out for your mouse or keyboard – or pen and paper, for that matter.
Back Position
When you’re seated, you should sit right against the back of the chair and make sure you’re not slouching forwards. Ideally, you should sit in a chair that has adjustable depth and has some reclination so it can adjust to your body when you’re seated. It should also be able to provide adequate support to your back.
Most desks that take these things into account will cater to a large majority of the population, but depending on your height and stature, you may need to make sure that the desk you pick is correct for you.
Adjustable Furniture
In many cases, desks are built with height in mind. But in reality, this is not the best way to design a desk. After all, even if someone is at the right height to use an 80cm high desk, their body stature can still differ. For example, someone may have a shorter torso and longer legs, or vice versa. With longer legs, you need a desk where, when your feet are on the ground and your knees are bent in line with your hips, your arms will still be at a 90-degree angle.
Not all desks will work for everyone.
That is why adjustable desks are becoming increasingly popular. Adjustable desks allow you to adjust the height of the desk to suit your needs and find the right, comfortable position for you to work at.
Comhar All-in-One Standing Desk
A great desk that keeps in mind your height needs is the Comhar All-in-One Standing Desk. This desk comes with height adjustment features that allow you to shift it to whatever height you need. This way you can be sure that you are able to avoid all the troubles of working at the wrong height.
Adjustable height desks also have the benefit of allowing you to stand while working and help get rid of some of the consequences of sitting for long periods.
Besides being adjustable, it also comes with programmable height presets. This way, you can save your preferences in it and save time for whenever you want to adjust it later. Because you can save these preferences, you can simply choose the height you want to set it to, instead of fiddling around until it works every time. And to make it better, all it takes to do all of this is to press a button!
The desk also comes with an anti-collision function which makes sure that the table is safe from damage. It also protects any other objects around it from being damaged when it’s moving. Because it has sensors that detect when the desktop comes in contact with other objects, it stops. This way, you can get any objects lying around out of the way before resuming your height adjustment.
The control panel for settings also comes with a safety lock button, so you can lock it when you’re not around. If you have kids or pets around, you can rest assured that they won’t end up changing any settings.
The desk also comes with a USB charging port where you can plug in your devices and keep your desk from getting cluttered with wires and cords. The charging station is built into the desk itself, so it looks clean and elegant too.
The Comhar desk also takes up minimal floor space, so you can set it up in a small corner without needing any large spaces. Therefore, if your workspace is small, you can still fit the Comhar desk into it, and it won’t look stuffy or cluttered either.
The desk comes with three options for table tops. You can pick between wood, bamboo, or glass, depending on what kind of desk works best for your workspace.
There is no better option for your workspace than the ergonomic Comhar All-in-One Desk. It comes with adjustable height, which protects your body, and is stylish and elegant, making it an excellent addition to your workspace.
