Abstract
There are many health risks, independent of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, associated with prolonged sedentary time; however breaking up periods of sitting can attenuate these risks. Alternative workstations have successfully reduced sedentary time without hindering productivity in office workers. However, to date there is limited research on the effect of active workstations on classroom performance of university students. This study investigated the effect of sitting, dynamic sitting, and standing desks on classroom performance (primary outcome). Secondary outcomes included cognitive performance, enjoyment, focus, discomfort and difficulty. Using a randomized counterbalance design, university students (N = 20, mean age = 21.85) listened to three 50-minute lectures followed by three quizzes pertaining to the lectures, performed cognitive tasks, and rated their discomfort, ease, enjoyment, focus, and future use after each desk condition. No significant difference for classroom performance, cognitive performance, enjoyment, or focus was found between the desks (all p values > .05). Significant differences however were found for discomfort and difficulty as well as future use (all p values < .05). Specifically, students rated the standing desks to cause slightly more discomfort and difficulty than the classic sitting desk and rated they were more likely to use a dynamic sitting desk over a standing desk in a classroom setting. Based on these findings, we recommend the use of standing and dynamic sitting desks in university classrooms to allow students to receive health benefits as they learn.
