Treadmill desks might be the next office health trend

Workers at the financial consulting firm Salo use their treadmill desks. (Agencies)

Will health-conscious office workers soon be skipping trips to the gym for an extended shift at the desk? It could be a healthy alternative, as some companies have begun experimenting with treadmill desks.

NPR's Patti Neighmond made a transition to the treadmill by first converting her sitting desk into a standing desk. After getting acclimated to standing, she installed a "discreet" treadmill, minus handrails, below the standing desk.

"I'm into my second week now and walking at a pretty slow, casual pace, about 1.4 miles an hour," Neighmond writes. "When I first started, I thought I'd simply hop on the treadmill and be off walking all day while working. But it turns out it's really hard to walk, talk, think and concentrate."

Last year, The New York Times reported on Salo, a Minnesota-based financial consulting company that tried a similar experiment with some of its employees. And so far, the results have been positive both for employee health and for the company's financial bottom line: During the six months that Salo took part in a Mayo Clinic treadmill desk study, the firm experienced record earnings.

"Remarkable," Salo director of operations Craig Dexheimer told NPR. "We didn't even go to a gym. We just went to work!" Dexheimer says he has lost 25 pounds since switching to the treadmill desk.

You can buy a treadmill desk, which typically costs several hundred dollars. Or, if you're in do-it-yourself mode, this website shows how to build your own treadmill desk for just $39, not including the cost of the treadmill.

Still, the doctor who headed up the Mayo Clinic study says you shouldn't jump right into running a minimarathon each day at work.

"There's a tendency to want to jump on the treadmill and walk for hours and hours a day," Dr. James Levine told NPR. "Don't do that. Certainly, at the absolute maximum, do half-hour on, half an hour off, for two to three hours a day."

注重健康的员工也许不久就可以把去健身馆改成在办公桌前锻炼了呢！这可能是另一个健康的锻炼方式，因为一些公司已经开始体验跑步机办公桌了。

美国国家公共电台的帕提 内蒙德在过渡到跑步机办公桌之前，先把她适合坐下办公的桌子换成适合站立办公的桌子。在习惯站立办公之后，她在站立式桌子下面安装了一个简易的跑步机，不含扶手。

内蒙德写道：“我现在已经进入使用跑步机办公桌的第二周，我的步子闲适而缓慢，每小时约1.4英里的速度。刚开始用时，我以为我跳上跑步机后一整天都能这样一边走一边工作。但是结果发现，走路、说话、思考和集中注意力同时进行确实很难。”

去年，《纽约时报》报道了明尼苏达州的金融咨询公司Salo，该公司试图在部分员工当中推行相似的实验。到目前为止，结果显示对员工的健康和公司的财务收益都是有利的：在Salo公司参与梅奥诊所跑步机办公桌研究的六个月期间，该公司的收入增长有了历史性突破。

Salo公司的运营总监克雷格 德克斯海默告诉美国国家公共电台说：“效果显著。我们甚至都不用去健身馆了。我们只要去上班就可以锻炼了！” 德克斯海默说，他自从换了这种跑步机办公桌后，已经减了25磅体重。

你可以买一个跑步机办公桌，价格通常为几百美元。或者，如果你喜欢自己动手，这一网站还展示了如何只花39美元就能自己制造跑步机办公桌（39美元不包含跑步机的花费）。

不过，梅奥诊所这一研究的领头人医生说，你不应该每天一上班就跑小型马拉松。

詹姆斯 雷文医生告诉美国国家公共电台说：“人们会有冲动，想跳上跑步机，然后一天持续走好几个小时。别这么做。当然，最大极限是，走半小时，休息半小时，一天一共走两到三个小时。

Vocabulary:

treadmill: 跑步机

discreet: 朴素的，不显眼的