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Standing Desks Are Overrated (nytimes.com)
Standing desks have become trendy in recent years -- so much so that they have been promoted by some health officials as well as some countries. Research, however, suggests that warnings about sitting at work are overblown, and that standing desks are overrated as a way to improve health. From a report: Dr. David Rempel, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, who has written on this issue, said, "Well-meaning safety professionals and some office furniture manufacturers are pushing sit-stand workstations as a way of improving cardiovascular health -- but there is no scientific evidence to support this recommendation." Let's start with what we know about research on sitting, then explain why it can be misleading as it relates to work. A number of studies have found a significant association between prolonged sitting time over a 24-hour period and increased risk for cardiovascular disease. A 2015 study, for instance, followed more than 150,000 older adults -- all of whom were healthy at the start of the study -- for almost seven years on average. Researchers found that those who sat at least 12 hours a day had significantly higher mortality than those who sat for less than five hours per day.
For convenience and comfort, it's nice to have options if you have various aches and pains -- "Alternating standing and sitting while using a computer may be useful for some people with low back or neck pain," he said -- but people shouldn't be under the illusion that they're getting exercise. A 2012 study in JAMA Internal Medicine followed more than 220,000 people for 2.8 years on average and found similar results. Prolonged sitting over the course of a day was associated with increased all-cause mortality across sexes, ages and body mass index. So did a smaller but longer (8.6 years on average) study published in 2015 in the Journal of Physical Activity & Health. Another study from 2015, which followed more than 50,000 adults for more than three years, also found this relationship. But it found that context mattered. Prolonged sitting in certain situations -- including when people were at work -- did not have this same effect.
For convenience and comfort, it's nice to have options if you have various aches and pains -- "Alternating standing and sitting while using a computer may be useful for some people with low back or neck pain," he said -- but people shouldn't be under the illusion that they're getting exercise. A 2012 study in JAMA Internal Medicine followed more than 220,000 people for 2.8 years on average and found similar results. Prolonged sitting over the course of a day was associated with increased all-cause mortality across sexes, ages and body mass index. So did a smaller but longer (8.6 years on average) study published in 2015 in the Journal of Physical Activity & Health. Another study from 2015, which followed more than 50,000 adults for more than three years, also found this relationship. But it found that context mattered. Prolonged sitting in certain situations -- including when people were at work -- did not have this same effect.
Since they put the user in a statue-like position, I referred to them as "posers". At least two of the three posers in my office have resumed only sitting at their desks, after a year or two. I haven't checked in on the third guy lately...
This is why people rarely follow any kind of health science. Inconvenience yourself to follow some study today and it will likely be disproven in months.
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
I have desk that I can raise and lower. It is most helpful after lunch when I'm fighting the food coma that usually occurs. It is nice to move around and stretch your legs, but I could survive without it. A nice option, but not strictly necessary.
is the only way to go. You get exercise and the company can generate "free" electricity. /s
I did notice, when I used to get up every hour or so, walk down 4 floors and walk back up it was way better than just sitting
You just can't sit that long with a bad back.
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I have a standup desk (two years now). My back feels way better than it ever did. My point is, if something is working for you, keep doing what youâ(TM)re doing - no matter what an article says. I rarely sit at work now - I get more done. Itâ(TM)s working for me, I didnâ(TM)t think it would but I gave it a shot and Iâ(TM)m glad I did. It may or may not work for you. To each is own
Standing the whole day is no fun.
A lot of office chairs are crap, especially after a few years. I switched to a Tempur-pedic office chair and it is much better.
The problems is as always. Lazy people looking for an easy solution to a problem Standing all day has it's issues as well as sitting all day. They are not a replacement for exercise but they area great way to add variety to spending a day behind a desk.
Keep the Classic Slashdot.
It's kind of a merit badge in government to have one of these, for people who just want whatever they can get for free. Certainly a portion do need it but the amount of installs is clearly "oh me too!" In some offices anyhow.
That being said, one very believable claim, is that they promote more walking, as you're inclined to just walk over to people to discuss things, rather than use workplace instant messaging. Or any other thing you might say "I cant be bothered" on. Well you're already standing, so definitely more movement occurs.
However as someone with obscenely flat feet, poor posture, weak core, now in my 40s I'm noticing how most of my life, standing is very uncomfortable for me. I tend to sink into a hip and put all my weight to one side. Sometimes changing side. I imagine a standing desk would destroy me very quickly.
Finally it's all fine and dandy for a manager or someone with a need to move about and chat here and there, but I imagine the engineer types here on Slashdot are going to be concerntrating potentially for hours and hours on end. I need to think and ponder and test. I'm not so sure they suit the coder or sysadmin types of use case of a computer. Can anyone here vouch?
I just converted my Ikea Jerker desk to standing height (still remains the most versatile computer desk of all time) due to lower back pain while sitting for long periods, and so far it's cured that problem. Also when I am waiting on short renders or compiles I tend to walk away or move around rather than start mindlessly surfing. Another advantage is that I can actually stand more in front of the monitor I am looking at the most rather than turning to face it from the center.
I intend to purchase a high task chair to go with it so I can sit or stand as the mood strikes. For now I have a stool from the shop.
I also found it immediately necessary to purchase a foot pad, as I am barefoot when in the office upstairs typically.
While I was at an office supply store looking for the high task chairs, I did sit in a few regular chairs that were super comfy and made me think "Gosh, if I had this chair I might not need a standing desk" but I think it's still nice to have the option to go back and forth.
It's been a few weeks now and we'll see how it plays out. So far I like it, and I still have my recliner for sitting and reading.
A friend who works for Google says that his entire office has the convertible sit / stand desks and they like them. He has also converted two of his three jerker desks at home to standing height.
For my old body, I can't idle for too long. My body will get stiffed, ached, unhappy, etc. I have to move around often. :(
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I spend some time every day taking my laptop to a standing desk that has a treadmill built in.
Pretty sure it's healthier than sitting all day.
that's the problem, at least for a lot of folks with back problems.
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I have a variable height standing desk at work. I asked for a desk inspection (which the company gives for free as it's scared of litigation for things like carpel tunnel). The inspector told me how to configure the desk correctly for both standing and sitting, and said that I should neither stand nor sit too much during the day. Mix it up. I sometimes do the morning sitting, the afternoon standing or whole days on either, and other combinations. There are also operational pros and cons of each (when standing you can see people coming from further away, but have less desk space to use).
I'm not too bothered about my mortality, just my short-term musculoskeletal health. I should point out though that I've heard about the varicose veins thing and so I secretly wear compression socks to work now.
"And the meaning of words; when they cease to function; when will it start worrying you?"
If you can't find one of those try a hawker, a costermonger or a colporteur.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
We weren't evolved to stand around, but to walk around. And then to lay around while waiting for something edible to come along. Laying down doesn't let you make good use of your arms, so we adopted sitting so that we could get work done. Of course, you can't do most modern jobs while walking, either.
I used to be an avid walker, but these days walking hurts me because there is something wrong with my back. I like cycling much better for that reason, plus that it's more interesting because it's faster. Standing for long periods is right out.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
My back is farked up, and I can't stand that long. Walking makes my back seize up eventually, but standing does it rapidly. Mind you, sitting also can cause me pain, but I have an Aeron chair at home and that has helped immensely. (Too bad about how hard the seat is, though. I've saved my back at the expense of my ass.)
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
If you have sufficient lower back pain it unquestionably affects your ability to walk comfortably.
No anon, article is terribly transplanted from whatever it originally was.
Sitting is bad, so the article says. Standing works fine.
What the headline wants to convey, and fails to do: Standing is inferior to walking. But if you are jailed in a office, you can't just walk around. So saying they are overrated is... weird.
This is about long term disease rate for the work force, where the ./ headline misses the point so badly i wonder what terrible sensationalist bot wrote it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
Long live the hamster wheel cubicle!!