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Am I the only one in hacker news that does not sit down at all at work? We are bipeds designed for standing on our two foot and moving from a while. I have lif

Am I the only one in hacker news that does not sit down at all at work? We are bipeds designed for standing on our two foot and moving from a while. I have lifeguards friends that talked to me about the change in the body shape they have seen over the years, especially women as the spend more and more time sit down in front of the computer. So I decided to change, it took months to get used to it as all musculature had been trained by years to sit down as since school time and on kids-adults are forced to sit down. I had worked as a teacher for kids and is really really interesting HOW THEY OPPOSE AND RESIST sitting in the same place without moving. One day we had strong hail storm out there and the principal-director forced us to keep kids inside on playtime. Other teachers forced kids to sit on their chairs so they could count and control them easily. The next class I had the kids almost exploding under their desk with painful anxiety. So I let them stand up and move as they wish while I was giving my class!!. It worked wonderfully. If I sit I use a Bar Stool, but I'm standing up 90% of the time. My computer is in front of my eyes. I love it. If you try it, CAUTION, it will take time for your musculature to adapt, at least a month.

Estragon 16y ago
I stand while I work. It's good for concentration.
efsavage 16y ago
Well, we're really designed to walk/run. Sitting at a bar school or standing still all day comes with its own set of health issues (not saying if they're equal or not, but they're present).
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
  - hugh3 16y ago
    Lots of folks stand up all day for work. They tend to complain about their feet hurting. We're obviously designed for some kind of sitting. Our bodies bend very comfortably that way. If you walk uphill for ten miles, your body really wants to sit down on the nearest log or rock to take a rest (though how this was supposed to be comfortable back when we used to be naked is a mystery to me). I have no doubt that our ancestors used to sit down to rest. Probably to eat, and to drink water, and to talk, and to weave those loincloths which would be necessary to make sitting down on a log much less uncomfortable. Our backs and feet suck for standing all day. Mind you, our backs and feet suck for pretty much everything.
    - shantanubala 16y ago
      Well combine that with the fact that we weren't really living very long. Our ancestors certainly did not live up to the age of 80 (even within the last century), so the adverse health effects of sitting down can really just be a result of the fact that most people are now surviving long enough to experience them.
    - keeptrying 16y ago
      Don't wear shoes. Walk around barefoot as much as possible - it will fix your back, knee and feet issues. Hard to do in corporate America but possible
      - hugh3 16y ago
        [citation needed]
      - mr_justin 16y ago
        Unless you already have feet (plantar fasciitis is super common) problems, in which case it will make things much worse.
        keeptrying 16y ago
        Agreed. Use a tennis ball to get rid of the plant fasciitis first.
      - georgieporgie 16y ago
        I've been using a standing desk for about a month now. I tend to move in place quite a bit, shuffling my feet around, hooking a foot or thigh over a stool, and shifting weight between my legs. The two things I've noticed are significant tightening in my lower back and discomfort leading to pain in my heels. If I stand barefoot for much of the day, the heel pain can be so bad that there's a sort of burning sensation as I lay in bed at night. Wearing comfortable, supportive shoes has greatly reduced the heel pain. You could counter that I simply need to spend more time on my feet to condition myself, but as I saw no improvement in the pain over the course of weeks, I'll be disinclined to believe you. :-)
xpaulbettsx 16y ago
Do you end up using a desk that is just elevated? I'm considering this approach as well.
mildavw 16y ago
I and a few of my co-workers stand all day. We are moving to a new office and I took a survey in order to buy appropriate furniture. Everyone wanted stand up desks. I just ordered 20 of these http://www.ergodepot.com/Ergo_Depot_adjustable_desk_AD127HD_p/ad127hd.htm http://www.ergodepot.com/Ergo_Depot_adjustable_desk_AD127HD_... and only 6 chairs.
- pbz 16y ago
  Have you considered this one: http://www.geekdesk.com/default.asp?contentID=604 http://www.geekdesk.com/default.asp?contentID=604 Just curious why you picked that one.
  - mildavw 16y ago
    I did, but Ergo Depot happened to have a showroom 5 minutes away and I didn't want to order them sight unseen. Specifically, I wanted to test the amount of side-to-side sway when at its highest level. The ones we ordered were sturdy. Price was roughly the same.
joe_the_user 16y ago
About two weeks ago, I started standing 100% of the time while working. I'm at the computer maybe 9-10+ hours/day. So this has been essentially a complete change in my habits of physical movement/rest. I do martial arts and some body work regularly, so I started out in what I considered to be good physical shape but it definitely has been ... challenging. I think I'm getting closer to adjusted currently. When I began, there were times when my legs felt something like lead.

Estragon 16y ago

I stand while I work. It's good for concentration.

efsavage 16y ago

Well, we're really designed to walk/run. Sitting at a bar school or standing still all day comes with its own set of health issues (not saying if they're equal or not, but they're present).

deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
- hugh3 16y ago
  Lots of folks stand up all day for work. They tend to complain about their feet hurting. We're obviously designed for some kind of sitting. Our bodies bend very comfortably that way. If you walk uphill for ten miles, your body really wants to sit down on the nearest log or rock to take a rest (though how this was supposed to be comfortable back when we used to be naked is a mystery to me). I have no doubt that our ancestors used to sit down to rest. Probably to eat, and to drink water, and to talk, and to weave those loincloths which would be necessary to make sitting down on a log much less uncomfortable. Our backs and feet suck for standing all day. Mind you, our backs and feet suck for pretty much everything.
  - shantanubala 16y ago
    Well combine that with the fact that we weren't really living very long. Our ancestors certainly did not live up to the age of 80 (even within the last century), so the adverse health effects of sitting down can really just be a result of the fact that most people are now surviving long enough to experience them.
  - keeptrying 16y ago
    Don't wear shoes. Walk around barefoot as much as possible - it will fix your back, knee and feet issues. Hard to do in corporate America but possible
    - hugh3 16y ago
      [citation needed]
    - mr_justin 16y ago
      Unless you already have feet (plantar fasciitis is super common) problems, in which case it will make things much worse.
      - keeptrying 16y ago
        Agreed. Use a tennis ball to get rid of the plant fasciitis first.
    - georgieporgie 16y ago
      I've been using a standing desk for about a month now. I tend to move in place quite a bit, shuffling my feet around, hooking a foot or thigh over a stool, and shifting weight between my legs. The two things I've noticed are significant tightening in my lower back and discomfort leading to pain in my heels. If I stand barefoot for much of the day, the heel pain can be so bad that there's a sort of burning sensation as I lay in bed at night. Wearing comfortable, supportive shoes has greatly reduced the heel pain. You could counter that I simply need to spend more time on my feet to condition myself, but as I saw no improvement in the pain over the course of weeks, I'll be disinclined to believe you. :-)

xpaulbettsx 16y ago

Do you end up using a desk that is just elevated? I'm considering this approach as well.

mildavw 16y ago

I and a few of my co-workers stand all day. We are moving to a new office and I took a survey in order to buy appropriate furniture. Everyone wanted stand up desks. I just ordered 20 of these http://www.ergodepot.com/Ergo_Depot_adjustable_desk_AD127HD_p/ad127hd.htm http://www.ergodepot.com/Ergo_Depot_adjustable_desk_AD127HD_... and only 6 chairs.

pbz 16y ago
Have you considered this one: http://www.geekdesk.com/default.asp?contentID=604 http://www.geekdesk.com/default.asp?contentID=604 Just curious why you picked that one.
- mildavw 16y ago
  I did, but Ergo Depot happened to have a showroom 5 minutes away and I didn't want to order them sight unseen. Specifically, I wanted to test the amount of side-to-side sway when at its highest level. The ones we ordered were sturdy. Price was roughly the same.

joe_the_user 16y ago

About two weeks ago, I started standing 100% of the time while working. I'm at the computer maybe 9-10+ hours/day. So this has been essentially a complete change in my habits of physical movement/rest. I do martial arts and some body work regularly, so I started out in what I considered to be good physical shape but it definitely has been ... challenging. I think I'm getting closer to adjusted currently. When I began, there were times when my legs felt something like lead.