3 ms·

I had no idea that some people like to code standing up; why is this? (Genuine curiosity, someone enlighten me please :))

by Jem 15y ago

gte910h 15y ago
Sitting for a very long time is bad for you. It causes increased chance of death, causes your back to hurt, makes you fatter, and lets your energy level go down after hours of doing it. It's not so much the "coding" part as the "sitting at a desk for 10+ hours a day" part that makes standing desks so attractive to programmers. http://pressroom.cancer.org/index.php?s=43&item=257 http://pressroom.cancer.org/index.php?s=43&item=257 http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/175656.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/175656.php
- Jem 15y ago
  I know that sitting is bad for you, I just couldn't imagine people standing all day instead. TBH after running around at home after my toddler I enjoy going to work to sit on my butt, heh :)
  - jseliger 15y ago
    I suspect most standers 1) ease into it and 2) get adjustable desks precisely to avoid standing literally all day.
- damoncali 15y ago
  Do people really sit for 10 hours? I can't stop myself from getting up to walk around every half hour or so.
  - gte910h 15y ago
    You can sit for 10+ hours and still walk around a bit. It's a longer day, mind you, but it works. I'm constantly pacing on the phone for instance.
joshuacc 15y ago
I haven't done it a lot, but I like to pace when I'm thinking about a hard problem. Having my computer at standing height means I can go straight from thinking through the problem to coding the solution without the attention shift of settling back down to a sitting desk. Reportedly, there are also health benefits to standing rather than sitting.
Revisor 15y ago
There is a lot of discussions about this on Hacker News and generally people who work standing are happy about it. See eg http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2828948 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2828948 For more http://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/submissions&q=standing+desk&sortby=points+desc http://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/submissions&q=sta...
- gte910h 15y ago
  I tried to do it exclusively at one place. Did not work out as well, but once I got a stool could vary the amount I did, that worked out well.
- Jem 15y ago
  Aha, thank you! :)
- T-hawk 15y ago
  Just don't confuse the correlation and causation. Those who stand do so because they like it. It doesn't automatically mean that everyone who tries standing likes it.
jnoller 15y ago
Here's a write up I did, that includes more links on why I switched to it: http://jessenoller.com/2011/04/25/switching-to-a-standing-desk-thoughts/ http://jessenoller.com/2011/04/25/switching-to-a-standing-de...
xutopia 15y ago
I switched to a sit-to-stand desk for comfort. Buttocks and legs would get sore if I sat too long a day. I only learned about it being healthier for you after I started using my desk. I alternate every hour or so for an hour.
bmccormack 15y ago
I started standing about 2 months ago, mostly for the supposed health benefits, and really like it. The anti-fatigue mat and adjustable desks really helped me get going. I started one week at 2 hours of standing a day, then 3 hours the next, etc., up until I was standing all day long. I don't know that I necessarily code better when I'm standing, but overall I prefer it to sitting.
SkyMarshal 15y ago
When I worked at bigcorp, inc., I used to always prefer going down to the datacenter and working on my projects at one of terminals in the racks, standing of course. No cubicle distractions, no noise except the constant hum and the occasional greybeard shuffling by, standing kept the blood flowing better, and all of it helped me get into and stay in flow better.

I had no idea that some people like to code standing up; why is this? (Genuine curiosity, someone enlighten me please :))

by Jem 15y ago

I had no idea that some people like to code standing up; why is this? (Genuine curiosity, someone enlighten me please :))

gte910h 15y ago

Sitting for a very long time is bad for you. It causes increased chance of death, causes your back to hurt, makes you fatter, and lets your energy level go down after hours of doing it. It's not so much the "coding" part as the "sitting at a desk for 10+ hours a day" part that makes standing desks so attractive to programmers. http://pressroom.cancer.org/index.php?s=43&item=257 http://pressroom.cancer.org/index.php?s=43&item=257 http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/175656.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/175656.php

Jem 15y ago
I know that sitting is bad for you, I just couldn't imagine people standing all day instead. TBH after running around at home after my toddler I enjoy going to work to sit on my butt, heh :)
- jseliger 15y ago
  I suspect most standers 1) ease into it and 2) get adjustable desks precisely to avoid standing literally all day.
damoncali 15y ago
Do people really sit for 10 hours? I can't stop myself from getting up to walk around every half hour or so.
- gte910h 15y ago
  You can sit for 10+ hours and still walk around a bit. It's a longer day, mind you, but it works. I'm constantly pacing on the phone for instance.

joshuacc 15y ago

I haven't done it a lot, but I like to pace when I'm thinking about a hard problem. Having my computer at standing height means I can go straight from thinking through the problem to coding the solution without the attention shift of settling back down to a sitting desk. Reportedly, there are also health benefits to standing rather than sitting.

Revisor 15y ago

There is a lot of discussions about this on Hacker News and generally people who work standing are happy about it. See eg http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2828948 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2828948 For more http://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/submissions&q=standing+desk&sortby=points+desc http://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/submissions&q=sta...

gte910h 15y ago
I tried to do it exclusively at one place. Did not work out as well, but once I got a stool could vary the amount I did, that worked out well.
Jem 15y ago
Aha, thank you! :)
T-hawk 15y ago
Just don't confuse the correlation and causation. Those who stand do so because they like it. It doesn't automatically mean that everyone who tries standing likes it.

jnoller 15y ago

Here's a write up I did, that includes more links on why I switched to it: http://jessenoller.com/2011/04/25/switching-to-a-standing-desk-thoughts/ http://jessenoller.com/2011/04/25/switching-to-a-standing-de...

xutopia 15y ago

I switched to a sit-to-stand desk for comfort. Buttocks and legs would get sore if I sat too long a day. I only learned about it being healthier for you after I started using my desk. I alternate every hour or so for an hour.

bmccormack 15y ago

I started standing about 2 months ago, mostly for the supposed health benefits, and really like it. The anti-fatigue mat and adjustable desks really helped me get going. I started one week at 2 hours of standing a day, then 3 hours the next, etc., up until I was standing all day long. I don't know that I necessarily code better when I'm standing, but overall I prefer it to sitting.

SkyMarshal 15y ago

When I worked at bigcorp, inc., I used to always prefer going down to the datacenter and working on my projects at one of terminals in the racks, standing of course. No cubicle distractions, no noise except the constant hum and the occasional greybeard shuffling by, standing kept the blood flowing better, and all of it helped me get into and stay in flow better.