Many people have described excess sitting as an epidemic that is causing a plethora of physiological and structural problems. These people often recommend that standing, rather than sitting, can help ameliorate some of these issues. Now, a new study has found that standing may also improve worker creativity compared to sitting.
In the study, half of the subjects were placed in a traditional meeting room with chairs to sit in, while the other half were placed in a chairless meeting room and were forced to stand. The subjects were then required to work together in order to produce a video that required creativity. Not only was the quality of the videos assessed, but researchers also assessed the level of cooperation between group members.
The researchers found that those who were sitting were not only more cooperative amongst each other, but were more creative as well. As a result, the groups that were standing produced superior final products compared to those asked to perform the same task while sitting.
Conclusions
For those who value their health, avoiding excess sitting is imperative. An increase in creativity is just one more reason to limit the amount of time you spend in a chair, particularly if your occupation requires complex thinking skills in which creativity may be of value.
References
Knight, AP, Baer M. Get up, stand up: the effects of a non-sedentary workspace on information elaboration and group performance. Social Psychological and Personality Science. 2014 Jun.