With the growing movement to sit less at work, there are more options to stay active in the office than ever before. Growing numbers of companies are adding wellness programs that encourage and incentivize employees to join gyms, have walking meetings, and track their activity through wearable devices such as FitBit.

More people are seeking active workstations as well. These active workstations include standing desks, sit/stand desks, treadmill desks, and stationary bike desks. Recently, a new study was released that looked at all those options to see which solution really is the best for the workplace.

The Journal of Occupational Health Psychology wrote about their findings after assigning 180 individuals four working options - a seated desk, a standing desk, a treadmill desk, and a cycling desk. The researchers measured participants’ performance levels in terms of boredom, stress, and satisfaction while engaging in work tasks. The study concluded that those who used treadmill desks were less bored, less stressed, and more satisfied than the people who were working while sitting, standing, or riding the stationary bike.

The study’s co-author Michael Slither also explained that work performance did not suffer while using a treadmill desk:

“We were able to show that these active workstations have psychological benefits without performance detriment,”

The exception was for the cycling desk. Those using the cycling desk generally performed worse and were more stressed than the other participants. Dr. Sliter, who uses a treadmill desk himself for 3 hours a day, was surprised at how challenging a cycling desk was for the participants.

Having tried bike desks ourselves, we were less surprised. Using a bike desk requires you to consciously have to peddle to get the activity. A treadmill desk, however, becomes also unconscious movement because the belt always is moving.Your mind is then free to focus on your work tasks.

While its important to find the active working solution that is right for you, this study shows that not all solutions have the same benefits.