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It may look absurd, but having a treadmill desk could improve your attention span, and even your memory, researchers have found.

Researchers tested students at both sitting and standing desks.

They found those who walked while they worked were more attentive, and better able to remember details.

Having a treadmill desk could improve your attention span, and even your memory, Canadian researchers have found.

The new Canadian study, led by Élise Labonté-LeMoyne found that working at a treadmill desk leads to subsequent memory and attention boosts. 

'Our results suggest that the use of a treadmill desk can improve attention and memory after the user has stopped walking,'  Labonté-LeMoyne and her co-workers wrote. 

'It can also improve self-perceived attention, which could lead to increased adherence to this new habit. '

'Behavioral, neurophysiological, and perceptual evidence showed that participants who walked had a short-term increase in memory and attention, indicating that the use of a treadmill desk has a delayed effect. 

'These findings suggest that the treadmill desk, in addition to having health benefits for workers, can also be beneficial for businesses by enhancing workforce performance.' 

The researchers even say the results should persuade firms to pay for the desks.

'Improvements in work performance should be convincing for organizations that may be inclined to subsidize the use of treadmill desks.' 

Previous researcher has been mixed - according to the BPS, one study found impaired maths problem solving while walking; another found no adverse effects on mental function; while yet another reported benefits of treadmill walking for creativity.

'These findings also contribute to the conversation on the use of alternate kinds of desks in the popular media,' the team wrote.

'While some have referred to sitting as the new smoking and praise the treadmill desk as a better alternative, the scientific evidence to support these claims is limited so far. 

'This study is a step in bridging the gap between the strong incentive of the health benefits and the fear of lost productivity.' 

The researchers asked 9 students to spend forty minutes reading text and emails on computer while walking at 2.25km/h at a treadmill desk (previously judged to be the optimal walking speed).

The researchers then tested the students' memory for the text and email content 10 minutes later, at which point they were seated at a normal desk.

Compared with 9 control participants who read the text and emails at a standard desk, the treadmill group showed superior memory performance ('the odds of answering a question correctly were 34.9 per cent higher in the walking group'). 

The treadmill students also said they'd felt better able to concentrate during the reading task; moreover, their surface brain activity (as measured by EEG) during the memory quiz showed signs (lower theta frequency and higher alpha frequency) that the researchers interpreted as indicative of superior mental functioning.

However - the BPS asks if changes could have been caused by the novelty value.

'...Readers of a sceptical persuasion might frown at the small sample size, and they might wonder too about the possibility that these apparent beneficial effects were due to little more than the novelty of working at a treadmill desk – benefits which might therefore disappear as the novelty factor wears off.'