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I purchased a standing desk about a year ago. I've found that I use it a lot less than I thought I would. On average, I spend about 1 hour a day standing. Wh

I purchased a standing desk about a year ago. I've found that I use it a lot less than I thought I would. On average, I spend about 1 hour a day standing. Why? - I find it difficult to stand for long periods of time, much more difficult than walking or running for the same duration of time. I tend to get tired of standing after about 40 minutes, and just want to sit down. I can run for hours. - I find it more difficult to concentrate. If I need to really think about a hard implementation, or a tricky design solution, I find my desire to sit down is very strong. Negatives aside, I actually wish I used it more. As I've gotten older, I've noticed lower back pain at night when sleeping. Researching the problem, it appears the culprit is tight hamstrings. Sitting for prolonged period can cause tight hamstrings, leading to lower back pain. In the past couple of weeks, I've been stretching and rolling my hamstrings, and trying to stand more. The results have been very promising: The more I stretch, and the more I stand, the less pain I have at night. I just wish I could stand for longer periods. There's something about it that my body doesn't like, it's just draining.

throwanem 9y ago
Not just you. A few years back, I served as a docent for a week-long introductory course in bioinformatics tooling - almost all of which time I spent standing, and very little of it moving around. It was exhausting, and it hurt. I can do ten miles on foot in a day, up and down hills, through streams, and generally all over creation - and even so feel better the next morning than if I spent the same time standing still.
- rubicon33 9y ago
  I'm so perplexed by the other people in this thread who are commenting that they stand 4-6 hours, or even all day. The dramatically different experience we have makes me think there must be some physiological component that makes standing still for long periods more difficult for some, than others.
- atmosx 9y ago
  Your posture might be the problem.
  - throwanem 9y ago
    It would be super helpful to know more about how to identify and fix such problems! You seem knowledgeable on the subject. Perhaps you will share.
    - atmosx 9y ago
      > You seem knowledgeable on the subject. Not really, but the problem you describe is usually a sign of problems with posture. An orthopaedic will be able to identify any posture issues easily. We deal with posture when the problem is substantial/visible, but most people have subtle orthopaedic issues which can be the root cause of other, bigger problems and don't know about it until it's too late.
forgot-my-pw 9y ago
Did you use a standing mat too? Like this one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A64ERKY https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A64ERKY
- rubicon33 9y ago
  No, I don't. My understanding is that the mats are for reducing foot pain? I don't really have any foot pain. Standing for long periods is just generally uncomfortable and exhausting for me. I find that I end up resting my weight on one leg, because it's less fatiguing than standing. I know what I would be thinking if I were you - This guy must be so out of shape if he can't even stand at a desk for a few hours! That's what's so confusing about all this to me... I'm not overweight (BMI of ~19), I exercise 4-5 times a week, I eat healthy... I just find standing for long periods to be difficult and uncomfortable. But I would really like to do it more, because I do have back pain at night, and standing DOES help reduce that. So... maybe I should get one of those mats, just to see if it helps?
  - seanp2k2 9y ago
    I got a few coworkers into balance boards for standing desks. The FluidStance works well for this. My Goofboard is fun for surf training, but too distracting to use while trying to GSD. https://fluidstance.com https://fluidstance.com we just ended up doing a group order for a few more interested coworkers.
dnh44 9y ago
Standing for long periods is much more difficult than walking.
slantyyz 9y ago
Fortunately I used a makeshift setup before investing into a more permanent solution. It took me a week or so to get used to standing for long periods at a time. For the first couple of days it was brutal enough that I was wondering "wtf am I thinking doing this", but it got easier and easier with each day. Of course, everyone's different, and everyone's mileage will vary.

throwanem 9y ago

Not just you. A few years back, I served as a docent for a week-long introductory course in bioinformatics tooling - almost all of which time I spent standing, and very little of it moving around. It was exhausting, and it hurt. I can do ten miles on foot in a day, up and down hills, through streams, and generally all over creation - and even so feel better the next morning than if I spent the same time standing still.

rubicon33 9y ago
I'm so perplexed by the other people in this thread who are commenting that they stand 4-6 hours, or even all day. The dramatically different experience we have makes me think there must be some physiological component that makes standing still for long periods more difficult for some, than others.
atmosx 9y ago
Your posture might be the problem.
- throwanem 9y ago
  It would be super helpful to know more about how to identify and fix such problems! You seem knowledgeable on the subject. Perhaps you will share.
  - atmosx 9y ago
    > You seem knowledgeable on the subject. Not really, but the problem you describe is usually a sign of problems with posture. An orthopaedic will be able to identify any posture issues easily. We deal with posture when the problem is substantial/visible, but most people have subtle orthopaedic issues which can be the root cause of other, bigger problems and don't know about it until it's too late.

forgot-my-pw 9y ago

Did you use a standing mat too? Like this one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A64ERKY https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A64ERKY

rubicon33 9y ago
No, I don't. My understanding is that the mats are for reducing foot pain? I don't really have any foot pain. Standing for long periods is just generally uncomfortable and exhausting for me. I find that I end up resting my weight on one leg, because it's less fatiguing than standing. I know what I would be thinking if I were you - This guy must be so out of shape if he can't even stand at a desk for a few hours! That's what's so confusing about all this to me... I'm not overweight (BMI of ~19), I exercise 4-5 times a week, I eat healthy... I just find standing for long periods to be difficult and uncomfortable. But I would really like to do it more, because I do have back pain at night, and standing DOES help reduce that. So... maybe I should get one of those mats, just to see if it helps?
- seanp2k2 9y ago
  I got a few coworkers into balance boards for standing desks. The FluidStance works well for this. My Goofboard is fun for surf training, but too distracting to use while trying to GSD. https://fluidstance.com https://fluidstance.com we just ended up doing a group order for a few more interested coworkers.

dnh44 9y ago

Standing for long periods is much more difficult than walking.

slantyyz 9y ago

Fortunately I used a makeshift setup before investing into a more permanent solution. It took me a week or so to get used to standing for long periods at a time. For the first couple of days it was brutal enough that I was wondering "wtf am I thinking doing this", but it got easier and easier with each day. Of course, everyone's different, and everyone's mileage will vary.