Effects of Standing Desks and Intermittent Walking on Cognitive Fatigue

May 4, 2026 updated by: Clarkson University

Inter-individual Differences in the Effects of Sitting Desks, Standing Desks and Intermittent Walking on Cognitive Task Performance and Moods

The objective of this randomized-controlled crossover design was to identify inter-individual responses to the use of sitting desks, standing desks and two minutes of walking after twenty-eight minutes of sitting on the performance of cognitive tasks and moods in healthy undergraduate and graduate students. Participants were randomly assigned to an order of interventions and were asked to perform 26 minutes of cognitive tasks followed by completing 2 minutes of surveys where they were asked about their moods. Following the 28 minute cognitive battery participants were given a 2 minute break. In the seated condition participants performed all tasks on a seated desk and had to remain seated for their 2 minute break. In the standing condition participants performed the entire battery standing and had to remain standing for the 2 minute break. In the intermittent walking condition, participants performed all tasks in a seated condition and for their 2 minute break, participants were asked to walk for 2 minutes at a pace that they felt comfortable.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

The current protocol has been used by Boolani, et al, 2017 to induce cognitive fatigue in college age individuals between the ages of 18-45 to test the effectiveness of cocoa and caffeinated cocoa in attenuating fatigue. It is our goal to explore the effects of standing desks as well as intermittent walking during cognitively fatiguing tasks and determine whether their use can attenuate mental fatigue in individuals between the ages of 18-45 years while performing cognitively challenging tasks.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
31

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • New York
      • Potsdam, New York, United States, 13699
        • Clarkson University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 18-45 years in age

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Use of any prescription medications for any chronic conditions
  • current acute illness
  • chronic illnesses
  • color blindness
  • inability to stand for 90 minutes

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: Sitting desk
Participants were asked to perform all tasks in a sitting condition
Behavioral: Performance of cognitive tasks
Participants performed a series of cognitive tasks on all 3 days
Experimental: Standing desk
Participants were asked to perform all tasks while standing
Behavioral: Performance of cognitive tasks
Participants performed a series of cognitive tasks on all 3 days
Experimental: Intermittent walking
Participants were asked to walk for 2 minutes at a self-selected pace after 28 minutes of performing tasks while seated.
Behavioral: Performance of cognitive tasks
Participants performed a series of cognitive tasks on all 3 days

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Profile of Mood Survey- Short Form Vigor on a 0 to 20 scale from baseline to the end of the study
Time Frame: 28 minutes, 58 minutes, 88 minutes
Using the self-reported Profile of Mood Survey-Short Form participants reported their moods on the vigor scale of the POMS-SF
28 minutes, 58 minutes, 88 minutes
Profile of Mood Survey- Short Form Fatigue on a 0 to 20 scale from baseline to the end of the study
Time Frame: 28 minutes, 58 minutes, 88 minutes
Using the self-reported Profile of Mood Survey-Short Form participants reported their moods on the fatigue scale of the POMS-SF
28 minutes, 58 minutes, 88 minutes
Profile of Mood Survey- Short Form Tension on a 0 to 20 scale from baseline to the end of the study
Time Frame: 28 minutes, 58 minutes, 88 minutes
Using the self-reported Profile of Mood Survey-Short Form participants reported their moods on the tension scale of the POMS-SF
28 minutes, 58 minutes, 88 minutes
Profile of Mood Survey- Short Form Depression on a 0 to 20 scale from baseline to the end of the study
Time Frame: 28 minutes, 58 minutes, 88 minutes
Using the self-reported Profile of Mood Survey-Short Form participants reported their moods on the depression scale of the POMS-SF
28 minutes, 58 minutes, 88 minutes
Profile of Mood Survey- Short Form Anger on a 0 to 20 scale from baseline to the end of the study
Time Frame: 28 minutes, 58 minutes, 88 minutes
Using the self-reported Profile of Mood Survey-Short Form participants reported their moods on the anger scale of the POMS-SF
28 minutes, 58 minutes, 88 minutes
Changes on the Profile of Mood Survey- Short Form Confusion on a -4 to 16 scale from baseline to the end of the study
Time Frame: 28 minutes, 58 minutes, 88 minutes
Using the self-reported Profile of Mood Survey-Short Form participants reported their moods on the confusion scale of the POMS-SF
28 minutes, 58 minutes, 88 minutes
Changes in state mental energy were measured on a 0 to 300 scale from baseline to the end of the study
Time Frame: 28 minutes, 58 minutes, 88 minutes
Using the state mental and physical energy and fatigue scale participants reported their state mental energy.
28 minutes, 58 minutes, 88 minutes
Changes in state mental fatigue were measured on a 0 to 300 scale from baseline to the end of the study
Time Frame: 28 minutes, 58 minutes, 88 minutes
Using the state mental and physical energy and fatigue scale participants reported their state mental fatigue.
28 minutes, 58 minutes, 88 minutes
Changes in state physical fatigue were measured on a 0 to 300 scale from baseline to the end of the study
Time Frame: 28 minutes, 58 minutes, 88 minutes
Using the state mental and physical energy and fatigue scale participants reported their state physical fatigue.
28 minutes, 58 minutes, 88 minutes
Changes in state physical energy were measured on a 0 to 300 scale from baseline to the end of the study
Time Frame: 28 minutes, 58 minutes, 88 minutes
Using the state mental and physical energy and fatigue scale participants reported their state physical energy.
28 minutes, 58 minutes, 88 minutes

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Performance on the concentration task grid
Time Frame: 15 minutes, 45 minutes, 75 minutes
A 100 square grid was used as a measure of concentration. The grid is arranged in a 10x10 square with each square containing a two-digit number (from 00 to 99) which are randomly placed in the center of each of the squares. Participants were asked to mark off as many consecutive numbers as possible starting from 00 within a one-minute pe-riod, by tapping on the desired square
15 minutes, 45 minutes, 75 minutes
Performance on the continuous performance task
Time Frame: 6 minute, 36 minutes, 66 minutes
Participants monitored a continuous series of letters (A-Z; Tahoma Regular font, size 20 point) presented on the screen for 1000ms and were asked to respond to the detection of the letter "X" only when preceded by the letter "A" by tapping on the screen or press-ing the "Space" key.
6 minute, 36 minutes, 66 minutes
Performance on the distractor task
Time Frame: 16 minutes, 46 minutes, 76 minutes
Identify the correct responses on the distractor tasks
16 minutes, 46 minutes, 76 minutes
Performance on the Erikson Flanker task
Time Frame: 19 minutes, 49 minutes, 79 minutes
During this task participants were first presented with a white fixation cross for 200ms, followed immediately by five equally sized arrows arranged in a 10.5cm horizontal ar-ray for 800ms. Participants were instructed to attend to the central arrow and ignore the four flankers. Participants were asked to press the left key if the central arrow was fac-ing left and the right arrow if the central arrow was pointed to the right. If all arrows were pointing the same direction (e.g. "< < < < <") then the trial was considered con-gruent. However, if the central arrow was pointing the opposite direction (e.g. "> > < > >") then the trial was considered incongruent. Subjects were presented with a 30 con-gruent and 30 incongruent trials in random order.
19 minutes, 49 minutes, 79 minutes
Performance on the Paced Visual Serial Addition Task
Time Frame: 17 minutes, 47 minutes, 77 minutes
Participants were asked to start at the number 0 and add the digit shown on the screen (0-9). Participants were then asked to remember the previous number and add the next digit presented on the screen and type their responses on the keypad.
17 minutes, 47 minutes, 77 minutes
Performance on the serial subtraction three task
Time Frame: 2 minutes, 32 minutes, 62 minutes
Participants were asked to silently subtract backwards in threes from a ran-dom number starting between 800 and 999 that was presented on the iPad screen
2 minutes, 32 minutes, 62 minutes
Performance on the serial subtraction seven task
Time Frame: 4 minutes, 34 minutes, 64 minutes
Participants were asked to silently subtract backwards in sevens from a ran-dom number starting between 800 and 999 that was presented on the iPad screen
4 minutes, 34 minutes, 64 minutes
Performance on the Rapid Visual Input Processing Task
Time Frame: 14 minutes, 44 minutes, 74 minutes
Participants were required to monitor a continuous series of digits (1-9; Tahoma Regu-lar font, size 20point) presented on the screen every 1000ms. The participants were given a primary, secondary, and tertiary task. The participant's primary task was to detect the presentation of three consecutive odd digits that were in ascending order (e.g. 3-7-9), the secondary task was to detect three consecutive even digits that were in ascending order (e.g. 2-4-8), and the tertiary task was to identify the number 6 when it was presented on the screen.
14 minutes, 44 minutes, 74 minutes
Performance on the Stroops task
Time Frame: 18 minutes, 48 minutes, 78 minutes
Participants were presented words (Tahoma font, 20point), every 1000ms on a screen spelling the names of colors (i.e. blue, yellow, red, green), which were either congru-ent (words presented in the same color as the color they were spelling out such as the RED presented in red font) or incongruent (words presented in a color different from the color that they spelled out such as the word RED spelled in green font). Participants were presented with all five options of colors used in this test (red, green, yellow, black, and blue) and asked to press the color of the text (font color) and not the word presented on the screen. There were 30 congruent and 30 incongruent tasks presented in random order and participants were scored on the number of correct responses, number of incorrect responses, and the average reaction time for correct responses. Each test was scored separately for both congruent and incongruent tasks
18 minutes, 48 minutes, 78 minutes
Performance on the Perceptual Fast Counting Task
Time Frame: 20 minutes, 50 minutes, 80 minutes
Participants were asked to press the number key that qualified with the number of dots presented on the screen. Each dot was approximately 0.5cm in diameter and the num-ber of dots on the screen ranged from 4 to 7. The number of dots was randomized across each trial and trials lasted 1 minute. Participants were scored based on number of correct responses, average reaction time for each correct response and the total num-ber of trials conducted in one minute
20 minutes, 50 minutes, 80 minutes

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Clarkson University

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Ali Boolani, PhD, Clarkson University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
June 1, 2018

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 15, 2018

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 15, 2018

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
May 4, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 4, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
May 8, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
May 8, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 4, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 18-49.1

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Due to IRB restrictions no individual data will be shared with other researchers. All data will be reported as aggregate.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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