7 ms·

A little caution to those attempting to find the most efficient way to lie down catatonically for hours on end, you're slowly weakening your body. The effects

by kneel 6y ago

A little caution to those attempting to find the most efficient way to lie down catatonically for hours on end, you're slowly weakening your body. The effects of this happen slowly over the course of years but you could potentially develop tight hips and a bad back, which can accelerate further mobility problems. Common advice is to get up and move once an hour. Your productivity might dip but mental/physical health will benefit. Seating that forces you to change positions frequently (floor cushions) might be a save too.

raziel2701 6y ago
I already have tight hips and a bad back from sitting too much. It's a modern phenomenon not limited to lying down.
- jolmg 6y ago
  I expect the problem rises faster if lying down as much as we sit down.
h2odragon 6y ago
Get a bigger chair and arrange things so that you can wriggle some; curly legs under you or straighten out, lean left or right, etc. Static for too long is the problem; we're meant to move more but that need not require a lot more space.
- hehetrthrthrjn 6y ago
  One of the advantages of lying down is that you can take a lot more positions (especially your lower body) compared to sitting.
  - RankingMember 6y ago
    I'm intrigued. Would you mind posting a picture of this workstation?
- che303 6y ago
  I totally agree with the movement / wriggle throughout the day idea. When I'm in my Altwork, I use standing a couple times a day. I type with my back up and legs out or crossed or even hanging of the sides. When I do something like reading docs or watching videos I lean back more to get the weight off of my butt and lower back. Everyone tends to focus on the full recline mode but that is only one of the options.
- hobofan 6y ago
  That's why I love the Steelcase Gesture so much. I haven't encountered another chair that enables and promotes moving around as much as that one.
fredophile 6y ago
My understanding was that tight hips were related to the position of the hips and legs while sitting for extended periods of time. I'd expect this wouldn't be as much of a problem in a laying down position. Maybe someone with more knowledge on anatomy or physiology could chime in.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
hehetrthrthrjn 6y ago
Of course if your intent is to be inactive then all bets are off. Even if you're not I don't think those little nudges are that effective. Personally I've been working lying down for 20 years, almost all day, almost every day. I only have back problems when I use beds that are not very firm. I'm over 6 feet tall and weigh about 120 kg and I'm in my early 50's. I run 10kms (without stopping except for quick drinks) regularly, in 1:20. I can do bench press, shoulder press, lateral pull down, seated row and seated dip machines with the weight set to my bodyweight (about 4 sets of 8 reps each machine, ramping the weight). I actually don't do a lot of exercise on the scale of things, and I can regain the above abilities within a month or so if I become totally inactive for a long period. I'm actually a fairly large person which helps with the weights but makes the running pretty rigorous. Like most things, if you work your body regularly you will be fine. How you don't use your body when you're not exercising doesn't affect that.
- sushid 6y ago
  You’ve been lying down for the better part of the day for 20 years? What does that translate in terms of hours per day? 20 hours? 16?
- GordonS 6y ago
  Would you mind if I asked why you work lying down?
  - che303 6y ago
    The idea was born because one of our inventors was rear ended on the freeway. He herniated L4-L5 and could no longer sit in a regular chair for more than 10 mins at a time or more than a few hours in a week. This included driven car so it was important to figure out how not to aggravate the injury while working.
    - Noumenon72 6y ago
      This worked out well for me also, keeping my back in stable condition until I eventually figured out I could cure it by deadlifting.
lenkite 6y ago
tight hips and a bad back -> these occur because of sitting for a long time not lying down. All my back problems have disappeared after WFH since now I can lie down and code. Also, I have observed, I move more lying down. Since one tends to shift position, legs and back more often on the bed without explicit mental effort. A chair tends to confine you more like a straitjacket. 2 hours on a chair and my lower back aches.
crazygringo 6y ago
> tight hips and a bad back To the contrary, that's from sitting. Remember we already lie down for 8 hours a day while sleeping. It's restorative, not harmful. What you do need to be careful of is generally weakened bones and muscles. But provided that you're getting up every hour to walk around for five minutes (and stretch, ideally), or at least every two hours, and you go to the gym moderately, then there's absolutely zero problem.
- chordalkeyboard 6y ago
  > Remember we already lie down for 8 hours a day while sleeping. It's restorative, not harmful. Every morning when I wake up my back and hips are extremely tight and it takes me about 2 hours to loosen them up. However if I spend those two hours laying down waiting for my body to loosen on its own, I get up 2 hours later with the same problems. I agree with you that sitting also causes the hips and back to get stiff and tight.
  - marcyb5st 6y ago
    You should try a stiffer mattress / topper. I had the same problem because I was sinking, ending up with a weird hip angle. I discovered this once I went wild camping with some friends. Sleeping on a thin air mattress made me realize that.
    - chordalkeyboard 6y ago
      Thanks and I will.
  - crazygringo 6y ago
    That's definitely not normal. Have you seen a doctor or physical therapist about that? There are lots of possible causes, with possible fixes including a different mattress, changing your sleeping position/posture, specific stretches, and massaging specific muscles.
    - chordalkeyboard 6y ago
titzer 6y ago
My ideal would be to have a lie-down setup like this in which I spent ~1 hour max, then I get up and do some fairly strenuous exercise, take a walk, make lunch, etc, then lie back down for another hour. I agree this would be probably overall negative if you lie in it for hours and hours all day.
thotsBgone 6y ago
Another warning: I discovered that lying down for too long during the day was a trigger for my depression (independent of my level of exercise).
Cthulhu_ 6y ago
Honestly, when it comes to productivity, your working life is a marathon, not a sprint. Realistically you'll be sitting (or lying down, as it stands) until your mid to late sixties, even if right now you may be betting on early retirement. That retirement will be pretty shit if your body isn't up for doing stuff by then. disclaimer: I haven't exercised regularly since the 'rona hit. Trying to go swimming a few times a week now at least, in theory the chlorine kills the virus well enough.

by kneel 6y ago

raziel2701 6y ago

I already have tight hips and a bad back from sitting too much. It's a modern phenomenon not limited to lying down.

jolmg 6y ago
I expect the problem rises faster if lying down as much as we sit down.

h2odragon 6y ago

Get a bigger chair and arrange things so that you can wriggle some; curly legs under you or straighten out, lean left or right, etc. Static for too long is the problem; we're meant to move more but that need not require a lot more space.

hehetrthrthrjn 6y ago
One of the advantages of lying down is that you can take a lot more positions (especially your lower body) compared to sitting.
- RankingMember 6y ago
  I'm intrigued. Would you mind posting a picture of this workstation?
che303 6y ago
I totally agree with the movement / wriggle throughout the day idea. When I'm in my Altwork, I use standing a couple times a day. I type with my back up and legs out or crossed or even hanging of the sides. When I do something like reading docs or watching videos I lean back more to get the weight off of my butt and lower back. Everyone tends to focus on the full recline mode but that is only one of the options.
hobofan 6y ago
That's why I love the Steelcase Gesture so much. I haven't encountered another chair that enables and promotes moving around as much as that one.

fredophile 6y ago

My understanding was that tight hips were related to the position of the hips and legs while sitting for extended periods of time. I'd expect this wouldn't be as much of a problem in a laying down position. Maybe someone with more knowledge on anatomy or physiology could chime in.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

hehetrthrthrjn 6y ago

Of course if your intent is to be inactive then all bets are off. Even if you're not I don't think those little nudges are that effective. Personally I've been working lying down for 20 years, almost all day, almost every day. I only have back problems when I use beds that are not very firm. I'm over 6 feet tall and weigh about 120 kg and I'm in my early 50's. I run 10kms (without stopping except for quick drinks) regularly, in 1:20. I can do bench press, shoulder press, lateral pull down, seated row and seated dip machines with the weight set to my bodyweight (about 4 sets of 8 reps each machine, ramping the weight). I actually don't do a lot of exercise on the scale of things, and I can regain the above abilities within a month or so if I become totally inactive for a long period. I'm actually a fairly large person which helps with the weights but makes the running pretty rigorous. Like most things, if you work your body regularly you will be fine. How you don't use your body when you're not exercising doesn't affect that.

sushid 6y ago
You’ve been lying down for the better part of the day for 20 years? What does that translate in terms of hours per day? 20 hours? 16?
GordonS 6y ago
Would you mind if I asked why you work lying down?
- che303 6y ago
  The idea was born because one of our inventors was rear ended on the freeway. He herniated L4-L5 and could no longer sit in a regular chair for more than 10 mins at a time or more than a few hours in a week. This included driven car so it was important to figure out how not to aggravate the injury while working.
  - Noumenon72 6y ago
    This worked out well for me also, keeping my back in stable condition until I eventually figured out I could cure it by deadlifting.

lenkite 6y ago

tight hips and a bad back -> these occur because of sitting for a long time not lying down. All my back problems have disappeared after WFH since now I can lie down and code. Also, I have observed, I move more lying down. Since one tends to shift position, legs and back more often on the bed without explicit mental effort. A chair tends to confine you more like a straitjacket. 2 hours on a chair and my lower back aches.

crazygringo 6y ago

> tight hips and a bad back To the contrary, that's from sitting. Remember we already lie down for 8 hours a day while sleeping. It's restorative, not harmful. What you do need to be careful of is generally weakened bones and muscles. But provided that you're getting up every hour to walk around for five minutes (and stretch, ideally), or at least every two hours, and you go to the gym moderately, then there's absolutely zero problem.

chordalkeyboard 6y ago
> Remember we already lie down for 8 hours a day while sleeping. It's restorative, not harmful. Every morning when I wake up my back and hips are extremely tight and it takes me about 2 hours to loosen them up. However if I spend those two hours laying down waiting for my body to loosen on its own, I get up 2 hours later with the same problems. I agree with you that sitting also causes the hips and back to get stiff and tight.
- marcyb5st 6y ago
  You should try a stiffer mattress / topper. I had the same problem because I was sinking, ending up with a weird hip angle. I discovered this once I went wild camping with some friends. Sleeping on a thin air mattress made me realize that.
  - chordalkeyboard 6y ago
    Thanks and I will.
- crazygringo 6y ago
  That's definitely not normal. Have you seen a doctor or physical therapist about that? There are lots of possible causes, with possible fixes including a different mattress, changing your sleeping position/posture, specific stretches, and massaging specific muscles.
  - chordalkeyboard 6y ago

titzer 6y ago

My ideal would be to have a lie-down setup like this in which I spent ~1 hour max, then I get up and do some fairly strenuous exercise, take a walk, make lunch, etc, then lie back down for another hour. I agree this would be probably overall negative if you lie in it for hours and hours all day.

thotsBgone 6y ago

Another warning: I discovered that lying down for too long during the day was a trigger for my depression (independent of my level of exercise).

Cthulhu_ 6y ago

Honestly, when it comes to productivity, your working life is a marathon, not a sprint. Realistically you'll be sitting (or lying down, as it stands) until your mid to late sixties, even if right now you may be betting on early retirement. That retirement will be pretty shit if your body isn't up for doing stuff by then. disclaimer: I haven't exercised regularly since the 'rona hit. Trying to go swimming a few times a week now at least, in theory the chlorine kills the virus well enough.