Could Standing In School Become The New Standard?

My daughter Kate “the Gator” is crushing the first grade. She “gets” school and she really enjoys it does however she does have a tendency to want to stand at her desk—so much so that she was moved from the front row to the back row so the kids behind her could see the blackboard! I was concerned at first but then I was told it’s not all that uncommon and now I learn it may be the best way to go.

Standing desks are working for adults in offices everywhere to help keep worker waistlines in check but are there more benefits to be had? Texas A&M researchers gave a group of high school students neurocognitive tests at the beginning and the end of the school year. Their classrooms were equipped with stand-biased desks (meaning they could sit on a stool if they needed to, but standing was the norm.)

After a year of using these standing desks the students showed improvements in memory and executive functions such as abstract reasoning skills. Before you make a move on the school board you should know the study was too small to make any certain claims about how using a standing desk may affect the brain, but it does add to the growing body of research that shows having standing desks in schools is a very healthy idea. (Mental Floss)