I've been standing for about a year now. My boss even hooked me up with a convertible desk so I can sit if I want - the whole thing slides up and down. I find I really only sit when I'm on a conference call, so that I'm not screaming over cube walls... I would have a hard time going back to the chair full time. I still love to sit down once in a while, but now, sitting in my chair is like having a soda: it's a semi-rare treat. As for health benefits, I'm still fat - so don't let anyone tell you that this is a magical way to lose weight. I will agree with the article that my feet almost never get tired anymore. I am more likely to go get a drink of water, or walk over to some one else's office rather than call or IM. I have a back injury, and while I don't think standing has "fixed" anything, my back feels stronger. Any health benefits kinda sneak up on you. It's not like you stand for two weeks and shout for joy over stronger legs. He's also right about your monitor height. Gotta be higher than you think. Do some research and figure out what is optimum for your body.
I've been standing while using my laptop for the past year due to having a suitably-heighted chest of drawers in my room. I have to say that I've experienced a few of the advantages mentioned - specifically the increased musculature and lower fatigue. That laptop stand looks nice, but I always use a mouse...
I'm doing the same, just had to stack furniture a little. It's been about a year for me, too. I started doing that after I read a blog post about sleeping on a hard surface (something I started doing years ago). The guy (who was a waiter, worked on his feet all the time) talked about how never sitting, in addition to sleeping on the floor, is a relatively easy path to good posture and less back pain. I'm inclined to agree with him: the little back pain I did have hasn't bothered me for a year.
Sleeping on a hard surface, eh? Any interesting links or comments on that? I've been wondering lately about how habitual shoelessness might ease back pain, but I don't know how much of an effect shoes have on the back.
I vaguely remember a study about an Asian country where they mainly sleep on floor mats, and they have less back problems there. Can't seem to find it now though. I'm mostly just seeing a lot of anecdotes. Maybe it's one of those things where that varies between people. Can't find any real studies on it though. For me, though, it definitely helped my posture and back problems. I don't know much about barefootedness, aside from that you shouldn't run barefoot. I'm sure the story's different if you're in some remote village in Kenya though. Or in that one African country, where they'd just keep pace with gazelles until the gazelles collapsed of exhaustion. Persistence hunting is extreme.
I have been thinking about this very seriously of late. My wife and I are expecting a child in February. He will take the room that my office is currently in. I have a music studio in my basement. Trust me, it sounds much more glamorous than it is. Really it is just some drums, some guitars and a bit of recording year. However, it does take a good bit of space. I'm in the process of trying to reconfigure that studio so I can fit in my work office as well. There is a large workbench down there and it is at standing level. I was thinking of not having a chair at all. The first time I realized that a standing desk was even an option was when I read an article about Donald Rumsfeld. Apparently he has a standing desk. While I am no Donald Rumsfeld fan, the idea intrigued me. Thanks for posting this, it's more affirmation that I should follow through with this.
I've actually been using standing desks myself on and off for a bit over a year (though currently I'm in an office without that option). The experience was nice, and I was able to stand for hours at a time while working, though I did like to have the option of sitting down once in a while. It's hard to say for sure but I did feel like I got a focus and productivity boost from standing up.
Thanks Mike! I was thinking of doing a podcast on pregnancy from the male perspective. too late.
Ha! Thanks pal, we are having a little boy. It's funny, I know I send you and the rest of the Hubski team too many emails. I realize you probably read a third of them. This realization came after I sent an email and at the bottom wrote that we were expecting a child and got no response from anyone :) Can't say that I blame you guys. I'm pretty damned excited for this kid though. As far as I'm concerned, having a boy and a girl now means I am all set in the kid department.
I feel bad I didn't notice. Sometimes the threaded GMail doesn't lend itself to reading every message (for example, I often don't notice when a large thread is collapsed, or I don't check my email from evening until morning and I have like 20 new mails in a thread--cough...this morning...cough). Anyway, congratulations to you and your family. That's amazing!
You might want to take something for that cough… Thanks for the congratulations, we will have to have cigars in Detroit on the 14th.
Thanks a lot! I'm super excited and a little bit nervous.
This isn't about what I thought it would be about. Thought it would be more along the lines of the Standing Baba's.