According to a new Canadian study, test subjects retained more information and were more attentive when working at a treadmill desk compared to their seated counterparts. Their learning capabilities were based on retention of information, the ability to answer questions about information they had read, and how they personally gauged their own attentiveness:
The test involved 18 students from the Montreal area, of which 9 were asked to read some text and answer dummy emails sat down, while the remainder did the same while using a treadmill desk. After a 10 minute break, the participants were then wired up to an EEG machine and asked true-or-false questions about the text and emails that they were meant to be reading.
The researchers found that the treadmill desk group were 34.9 percent more likely to answer a question correctly than the sitting counterparts. The walkers also believed themselves to be paying more attention to their work, and the EEGs demonstrated that the group was showing more signs of attentiveness and better memory retention compared to their static comrades. (via)
Of course, this study doesn’t necessarily prove that every office needs treadmill desks. The study compared test subjects who were seated against subjects who were in almost constant motion. The results might be a little different if the researchers compared subjects using a treadmill desk against subjects who got up to take a walk or stretch at regular intervals.
As for myself, I just hope my office never gets those 360-degree desks from Parks and Recreation. So impractical, but yet Ron Swanson finds a way to make them completely hilarious.
Source: Engadget