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If you’re an avid gamer, one thing about you is sure. You spend prolonged hours at your desk playing your favorite games.
Unfortunately, those long sessions are drifting your body closer to the ill effects of excessive sitting—including obesity, cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and early death!
But the standing desks help you cut down on the hours you spend in your chair a day. However, these stand-up desks have been more common in workplaces for a long time.
And this brings us to the million-dollar question:
Are Standing Desks Good For Gaming? How will they impact your gaming performance and overall gaming experience?
Let’s find out…
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How hard is gaming at a standing desk and should you use a standing desk for gaming?
When it comes to the question of health and well-being for gamers, then YES, you definitely need to use a standing desk! Just like office workers reap multiple health benefits from these desks, so will the gamers.
These desks will be especially helpful if you’re a heavy gamer who spends many hours seated in your chair. Too much time in your chair is harmful to your health.
The effects of long sitting hours can lead to both short-term and long-term problems, including muscle strain, weight gain, neck and back pains, brain fog, and poor blood circulation, among others.
HOWEVER, you need to keep in mind that gaming and working are two completely different occupations. While the former is about fun and recreation, the latter is just that, working.
For this reason, some gamers are hesitant to use standing desks for the fear that they will end up sacrificing the comfort offered by their chairs.
But the truth is, a good quality sit-stand desk has a lot of benefits to offer and positively impacts your overall performance.
Below, we take a closer look at the benefits of a standing desk for gamers
Improves your health
As you’re already aware, spending long hours in your chair every day puts your body at risk of serious health problems. These include obesity, diabetes, heart-related diseases, certain types of cancer (including colon and breast cancer for women), and early death.
If you evaluate your daily life habits, you may realize that you spend many hours seated. This is not just when gaming but also when taking meals, watching TV, commuting, working in the office, etc.
And this puts you at high risk of the above health problems.
As a gamer, you have the opportunity to cut down on your sedentary life by switching from your traditional desk to an active workstation such as a treadmill desk or a standing desk.
These solutions can help you cut down sedentary habits by around 2-3 hours. This will have a significant positive effect on your overall body health.
Experience a boost in energy
Besides helping you lead a healthier life, a standing desk for gaming will also boost your energy levels. The human body is designed to not stay in the same place for so long.
When you stay in your seat for long hours, you’ll feel fatigued. Studies have also shown that prolonged sitting can make you feel depressed. But if you have a standing desk that lets you regularly switch between sitting and standing, you can easily combat this issue.
In other words, standing will give you a chance to stretch your legs without missing a single beat in your game. Blood starts moving freely to your brain—helping you remain active and feel more energized. You’ll enjoy extended sessions at your battle station!
Your focus also gets better when you’re energized, as explained below…
You stay more focused
Sedentary behavior makes you feel fatigued and experience discomfort and restlessness. All these are huge distractions from your ability to focus. When your body is in pain or tired, you can’t think straight.
If you switch to standing at this very moment, you’ll instantly feel more alert and connected to your game. This is why office workers have grown fond of these desks—they make them feel more connected to their computer monitors and become more engaged with the tasks at hand.
Improved focus is crucial to enhancing your performance, especially if you’re a competitive gamer who requires sharp focus and quick reaction.
Standing desks let you alternate between sitting and standing
Let’s get this straight, switching to a standing desk doesn’t mean you give up your chair while gaming.
There’s a reason standing desk manufacturers label their products as standing gaming desks. They let you easily switch between sitting and standing positions.
The desks aren’t designed for standing all day. After all, too much of everything is bad, including standing. You should switch between the seated and standing positions regularly to ensure you get the health benefits they offer.
So, if your legs start feeling tired, you can simply go back to the seated position. And if you start feeling restless and want to stretch your legs, raise your desk to the standing position.
Achieving an ergonomic PC gaming setup is much easier with these adjustable desks as they let you customize their height to a comfortable level.
Electric standing desks, in particular, are the best standing gaming desks as they let you quickly switch between sitting and standing with just the press of a button!
Common problems with a sit-stand gaming setup
Standing desks are not 100% perfect and may present you with a handful of problems when using them. Knowing these problems in advance and how to deal with them is crucial to ensure a smooth experience.
Below are some of the potential problems you may run into when using standing gaming desks.
Your feet may get sore
Your body may not be used to standing for long. For this reason, you may start feeling your feet getting hurt after standing for a short while.
However, you can prevent this by investing in an anti-fatigue mat that you place under the standing desks. These help cushion your feet and minimize pressure on them, making you feel comfortable for longer.
You’ll need to adjust your monitor height and distance
When you switch to standing desks, you may also find yourself straining your neck as you try to look at your monitor. To avoid this, place your monitor at an appropriate height for comfortable viewing.
You’ll also need to set it at the right distance to prevent eye-straining, which can cause eyesight problems and headaches.
You may also need to install a keyboard tray
Though a keyboard tray is optional, it is also a great way to achieve a fully ergonomic standing gaming desk setup.
It stays below your main desktop, helping your shoulders stay level and your wrists neutral, increasing your comfort.
How to choose the best standing desks for gaming:
When looking for a new gaming desk, be sure to check the following important factors:
- Stability: A sit-stand desk that gets too shaky will affect your gaming performance and frustrate you. Get a quality, well-made desk with sturdy frame construction for excellent stability. Also, ensure the desk retains its stability even at higher height settings.
- Lift capacity: Gaming setups usually have multiple components. Thus, you should get a desk with a high lifting capacity to avoid running into problems when adjusting its height.
- Memory settings: Choose an electric standing desk with a memory function if your budget allows it. This feature lets you pre-set your favorite seated and standing heights, saving you the time you spend adjusting your desk every time you switch positions.
- Cable management: This feature is also crucial for gamers since most gaming setups involve many electric-powered devices, with cables running all over.
- Size: Get a gaming standing desk with a sufficient desktop surface for accommodating all your gaming equipment. Unlike traditional desks, standing desks lack additional storage space. This makes you underestimate how much space they offer you.
If you have a multi-monitor setup, you’ll need more space. Avoid budget electric standing desk models for multi-monitor setup as they’re prone to electronic failures and have lower weight ratings.
We recommend standing desk converters as the best budget standing desk for a multi-monitor gaming setup if you’re on a tight budget. You can easily find a converter with adequate real estate for your gaming component at a reasonable price.
Final Thoughts
If you’re an avid gamer who spends long hours at your gaming desk, we recommend you consider switching to standing desks.
These desks help improve your health and protect you from the health risks connected to excessive sitting. Besides, they improve your energy levels and focus, enhancing your gaming experience.
Since standing desks are height adjustable, you can always go back to sitting when you feel tired after standing for some time. Their adjustability also means you can easily set them to a more ergonomic height for comfortable gaming sessions.
Note that you may need time to get used to your new gaming standing desk. You’ll also need to make a few changes to your gaming setup for a more ergonomic layout for a comfortable gaming experience.
Follow our additional tips above on choosing the best standing desks for gaming to ensure you enjoy all the benefits that come with these desks.
Happy gaming!
