A standing desk made me better at gaming – an unscientific study

The benefits of a standing desk have been the subject of 1,000,000+ think pieces, op-eds, and sponsored posts ever since we collectively decided to say ‘nah’ to the traditional office space and begin working from home instead. Despite what the corporate sector and their panicking landlords would have you believe, the newly-emancipated home worker is a good thing. I save the better part of £100 per month from not commuting, I get to spend more time with my dog, I have more time for self-care and exercise now that about two hours of my day aren’t spent on the tube, and my diet has never been better.

But a good home office setup is essential if you want to maintain a healthy work/life balance. My office is in my bedroom – but it’s sectioned off nicely, so it allows some separation of ‘church and state’, so to speak. But, if you’re reading this on a specialist gaming website, that likely means that you’re a gamer. And often, a gamer’s work and office space combines. With that in mind, let me tell you, a standing desk is transformative.

The desk I’m using is the Standing Desk Premium Series E8 (a sample of which was kindly provided by FlexiSpot). After reading Alex going off about this desk, I wanted one exclusively for work purposes; I’d edit and do my admin when standing, and write when sitting. Nice and simple; good for my back, healthier, and a refreshing change when I need to professionally ‘change modes’, so to speak. But a friend told me that they’d been using a standing desk for gaming, so I thought ‘why not?’, hit the simple button that I’d pre-registered to my perfect height, and started playing. I’m going to break this down into sections to make it easier to digest.

MULTIPLAYER

First up, I tried some Street Fighter 6. Would you believe me if I told you that it made me instantly better? Because it did. Something about my monitor being at eye-height whilst I’m standing, with my hands able to rest perfectly on my fight stick at perfect elbow height… it was all combined to allow me to get combinations out quicker and more reliably. It elicits the feeling of being in an arcade – all the proportions are correct – and not being hunched over and sat down feels like it opens me up, and sharpens my instincts somewhat.

I even tested it: sitting, I can perform some of the harder Cammy combos in my technical oeuvre with about 60% consistency. Standing, it’s closer to 70%. Not a big difference, but a noticeable enough one when it comes to the crunch. My best ranked streak sitting, up to this point, was eight wins. Now, standing, my best streak is 12. I could very well be just getting better, generally, but I feel like I play better standing. So much so that this is now my default way to play – I have my Xbox Series S hooked up to my work monitor, even, now divorced from its long-time home in the lounge.

SINGLE-PLAYER

A lot of my single-player gaming is done in titles that suit quick, short sessions – wrapping up the missions in Sonic Origins Plus, going a round or two of Hades, a run or two of Rogue Legacy, or grinding out some levels in whatever stupid RPG I’m obsessed with at the minute. That’s the pattern of my gaming. I can’t really say at this point whether the standing desk has made me any better at these games, but I can tell you I’m noticing the impact on my daily health targets.

Playing something like Vampire Survivors (a ‘day’ in that game lasts 30 real-world minutes) is perfect when standing; it’s a quick burst of activity that gets you out of your seat, helps improve your posture, and gets the blood circulating. If you move around a bit whilst playing (I do), you’ll get an easy 5/600 steps added to your daily total per 30 minutes played – more if you’re jumping around like an idiot in the final few seconds of a particularly epic Vampire Survivors run.

I also played a fair amount of Final Fantasy 16 whilst standing; the ease of which you can raise and lower the desk means that you can stand for the boring, definitely-not-filler-I-promise RPG bits that have been crammed into the game like roofing insulation and then take a seat to really soak in the incredible action of the boss fights and cinematics. Again, having this option may not make you better at the game, but it certainly makes you appreciate the big payoffs when they come.

CO-OP

I haven’t played too many co-op games since getting my standing desk, but one constant in my life is always going to be Monster Hunter. I own Rise/Sunbreak on my Switch, PC, and Xbox at the moment, and – in the interest of barely credible science – I thought I’d try out some co-op gaming whilst standing. Turns out, being on my feet for Monster Hunter makes me better at the game. Similarly to what I was saying about Street Fighter, it makes me more reactive; some of my friends would whoop and holler when I managed to dodge a Magnamalo’s massive tail swoop,m with one frame to spare and then come and crack my shield on its noggin.

I tried a bit of co-op Elden Ring whilst standing, too. Something about really focusing and remaining stock still, on your feet, felt like it gave me better focus. I have ADHD, so having multiple small things to focus on at once actually helps me concentrate, rather focusing better when all my attention is one thing. So standing (possibly jogging on the spot) and taking on Malenia – it worked a treat for me. Got one of my friends past a hurdle they’d been struggling with for a while, no less. All brains differ, of course, but I think I’ll try a lot of my boss battles whilst standing from here on out.

So, a standing desk is genuinely a game-changer for work and play. I thought it would just help me differentiate two very different parts of my job, but it’s actually boosted my ability – and my enjoyment – of playing games. I thought all those puff pieces you read online about the soft benefits of having a standing desk were just that – puff pieces. But, it turns out, all those tabloid journalists and SEO-trained commerce writers may have been on to something after all.

FlexiSpot’s E7 Standing Desk starts at £420, but until the end of this month you can apply the code "JUNE7" at checkout to receive a £120 discount, making it just £300. You can order a desktop to go with it. The cheapest 120x60cm desktop costs £80 (and the frame fits desktops up to 180x80cm).

In the US, the FlexiSpot’s E7 Standing Desk starts from $320 (was $500) for the frame, with desktop options ranging from $80 for chipboard up to $200 for solid wood.