My Wife Stole This Standing Desk Mat From Me After Just 1 Hour – AnthroDesk ErgoSlant Mat Review

Usually, my wife doesn’t really care that much about the products that I receive to review. There are a few exceptions, but I would say that it’s less than five percent. Well, I recently got the AnthroDesk ErgoSlant Anti-Fatigue Standing Desk Mat, and it literally was at my standing desk for about an hour for me to test out and then it was gone. When I came home from work, it had been replaced with a plain old mat which was better than the hardwood floor, but NOT to the level of the AnthroDesk mat. I quickly searched around and found the AnthroDesk carefully placed under my wife’s standing desk. Oh well.

Let me take a “step back” here and talk a bit about ergonomics. Both my wife and I have standing desks. Mine is permanently standing, and I use a stool chair if I want to sit. My wife’s desk can actually be converted from sitting to standing, but for the most part, she leaves it in the standing position. She too has a stool that she can use which allows her not to have to lower the sit/stand desk. And, she has an exercise bike that has a table top built in so that she can actually ride a bike while she works at her desk.

Researchers and medical professionals say that if you have a job that requires you to sit for 8 hours a day, you should stand for a good portion of that time. There is actually a sit-stand ratio you should follow. Initially, experts said you should stand for 15 minutes every hour. But according to the University of Waterloo’s Kinesiology department, a better ratio is between 1:1 and 1:3 which translates to standing at least 30 minutes (or more) each hour. 

Why stand instead of sit?

But why would you want to stand? Sitting is so comfortable.

This actually isn’t anything new. People who live sedentary lifestyles tend to have more health issues. But, even if you are a regular or heavy exerciser, if you sit at a desk for prolonged periods, it’s almost as bad as if you didn’t exercise at all. 

Luckily, people are becoming more aware of the importance of regularly standing during the workday. For example, I requested a sit-stand desk at my work so that I could stand during my many daily conference calls. At another company I worked for, each and every desk was a motorized sit-stand desk. 

I got quite used to standing. Although, if you start to do it for extended periods, without sitting down occasionally, the benefits of standing are lessened. You can develop back pain, and your feet might start to hurt. (For the back pain, I highly recommend doing planks and side planks as my oldest daughter taught me.)

If you adopt a heather working environment, that of regularly alternating between sitting and standing at your desk, you are going to start to notice a variety of changes. As I mentioned, you may get some back pain, your legs may start aching a bit until your body gets used to using different muscles, and your feet may become sore, especially if you are standing barefoot (which is the way I prefer to do it).

If you stand, get a mat!

Luckily, if you get the proper mat for your standing desk, your feet will feel fine, if not great. I highly recommend a spongy or rubbery type of material, as the harder, less flexible mats can hurt your feet almost as much as a harder floor or carpet. Don’t go “cheap” when it comes to an anti-fatigue mat.

My wife and I, who both have standing desks, have tested various types of cushioned standing mats. But, by far, the AnthroDesk Anti-Fatigue Standing Mat has been the most comfortable of the ones we have tested. 
And I think that is the reason why she stole the AnthroDesk mat from my desk. 

One of the main reasons why my wife stole the pad from me is because of one of the features that the AnthroDesk Standing Mat has – it has a slope to it.

This is actually important. To be truly effective, the mat must help you maintain a straight posture. Part of that comes from how you actually stand, but also from how the mat supports you. 

For my wife, who suffers from plantar fasciitis, the slope of the AnthroDesk Standing Mat is perfect. And, the slope is also supposed to help improve posture.

Why the AnthroDesk ErgoSlant Mat?

The AnthroDesk Mat is slightly sloped with more padding towards the one side of the pad (up to about 2” of rubberized, memory-foam-like padding). It can be rotated around if desired to provide either a declining or inclining angle. Rotating the pad provides micro-movements. 

Through my (brief – haha) testing, I feel that periodically rotating the pad is actually a smart move. With the slope going towards your desk, it acts like wearing slight heals. But if you reverse it the other way, I almost felt that it was softly stretching out my calves. Both felt great.

Regardless, having the slope, I feel is far superior to having just a flat mat.
The AnthroDesk ErgoSlant Mat retails for $99.99 but is currently on sale for $69.99. It can also be found on Amazon (in limited supplies) for about $40, but be sure it is the slanted version!

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One way or another, you truly should incorporate good posture into your work environment, especially if you sit at a desk all day. Standing every half an hour for 20-30 minutes it good for your posture, actually burns more calories than just sitting, and keeps you healthy. So if you do start regularly standing, having a good, anti-fatigue standing mat like the AnthroDesk ErgoSlant mat is a must!

Disclosure: I have a material connection because I received a sample of a product for consideration in preparing to review the product and write this content. I was/am not expected to return this item after my review period. All opinions within this article are my own and are typically not subject to editorial review from any 3rd party. Also, some of the links in the post above may be “affiliate” or “advertising” links. These may be automatically created or placed by me manually. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item (sometimes but not necessarily the product or service being reviewed), I will receive a small affiliate or advertising commission. More information can be found on my About page.

HTD says: If you regularly sit at your day job, be sure to make regular standing part of our routine. And, to help with the transition and on-going potential fatigue, invest in a quality standing mat that has good padding and a slope to it, like the AnthroDesk ErgoSlant mat.