Active workstation allows office workers to work efficiently while sitting and exercising moderately.

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Exercise Physiology
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Sedentary office work contributes to poor health outcomes.
• Integrating physical activity into the workday is a potential solution.
• Active workstations offer a way to increase physical activity during work.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of a moderate-intensity active workstation on simulated office work performance.
• To assess typing speed, error rates, and cognitive function during simultaneous work and cycling.

Main Methods:

• Participants performed typing tests and cognitive tasks on a cycling workstation at 40W and 80W.
• Physiological responses (oxygen uptake, heart rate, sweating) and perceived effort were monitored.
• Typing time, error count, and cognitive performance were measured.

Main Results:

• Moderate physical activity (40W and 80W) led to increased physiological responses.
• Typing time significantly increased by 7.3% (40W) and 8.9% (80W).
• Typing error count and cognitive performance remained unchanged.

Conclusions:

• Moderate-intensity exercise on active workstations increases task execution time but not error rates.
• Active workstations are suitable for meeting minimum daily physical activity standards during work.
• This intervention offers a viable strategy for promoting health in sedentary office workers.