Standing Desk Starter Guide: Some Dos and Don'ts

[Julio Franco]

#ThrowbackThursday It can be easy to talk yourself out of standing at a computer desk. Besides parting with your favorite chair, the price of most adjustable models can discourage many. Read on for a practical outlook on what you can expect from your first standing desk, whether you're building something yourself or having one shipped to your door.

Read the full article here.

https://www.techspot.com/article/1295-standing-desk/

 

[EClyde]

Standing Desks. Akin to the electric fork

 

[Uncle Al]

Ohhhhh ..... good comparison! I was going to quote Barnum's "there's a sucker born every minute", but I like yours better!

 

[Evernessince]

Autonomous sells good standing desks for $250. I've had one from them for awhile and it's pretty great, not to mention half the price of everyone else.

 

[Kunming]

It's incredible how standing up can become a degree-course once the hipsters get their hands on the concept.

It's also incredible how each of the points apply equally well to sex. It is indeed important to change positions every now and then, which one shouldn't always expect to be comfortable, but that doesn't mean you have to spend big on her, although of course do take wire management into account. Or is it ropes. Taking breaks is also good.

 

[gamoniac]

I didn't care for it until I got one at work (the good, adjustable kind). It took a few weeks to get used to but now I use it everyday. IMO, it is worth spending the extra to get an adjustable one that allows you to stand or sit effortlessly.

 

[AsianEd]

I started using my standing desk at work and actually spend about 4-6 hours a day on my feet now. I found that my knees were locking and getting uncomfortable, something I remedied by adding a balance board to the mix. It allows me to make slight shifts while standing and lets me make constant adjustments to my position and posture throughout the day.

The particular one I have is from FluidStance and I can't imagine my workday without it!

 

[VitalyT]

 

[poohbear]

Sitting for long hours for work has wreaked havoc on my lower back! Ordered a standung desk and waiting on it....hooefully my lower back will be better after this...

 

[VitalyT]

This is the stupidest thing I have ever seen. In order to focus your mind on an intelligent task, you have to relax all the other muscles in the body, including ones of the back and legs. You can't properly focus on anything while standing, that's basic physiology.

Whoever came up with this, doesn't know the first thing about human physiology.

I am an IT guy, and I can't even think about my tasks while standing, it's a 100% off switch.

 

[trgz]

Don't: buy a standing desk if you don't think that you're not going to screw up your posture by placing a laptop on it like in the pictures and working at it for any length of time...

 

[MarkHughes]

I got an adjustable one from IKEA, I use it mostly for sitting but even then being able to shuffle it up and down a bit is nice as it allows different sitting positions. I hardly ever use it for standing as I didn't find it as easy to concentrate on coding while fidgeting about and shuffling my feet.

 

[Chaotic Neutral]

What next? standing closet? for the sake of saving our backbone.

 

[Cycloid Torus]

Even with a stand, the monitor is too low for my neck.

 

[fktech]

Spent a fortune in the office to upgrade to standup desks and less than a year later EVERYONE is sitting again! Just another passing fad.

 

[GreenNova343]

(snip) Standing burns more calories than sitting (50 more an hour according to Google),

Don't know if that's supposed to be a search result from Google.com, or some sort of "official" pronouncement from Google Inc.

However, I remembered hearing about this on the news recently, & lo & behold this story came up at the top of my Google Search results.

Interestingly enough, their calculation was that a 140-lb/63.5kg person that stood instead of sitting for 6 hours would only burn an extra 50 calories per day...not the 300 calories that "Google" claimed. Note that's not quite enough calories to treat yourself to 3 steak fries (which, apparently is half the "recommended" serving of per some Harvard researcher).

EDIT: first link didn't convert right.

 

[Wizwill]

I have been computing for almost 25 years. I have tried sitting, drafting chairs and standing. I have found sitting in a proper, supportive and fully adjustable chair to be the least tiring. I also use a chair to which I have attached a 'mousing board', properly adjusted to elbow height and extending outboard of the right-hand side of the chair and a keyboard on my lap, both wireless.

 

[Mark I]

This is the stupidest thing I have ever seen. In order to focus your mind on an intelligent task, you have to relax all the other muscles in the body, including ones of the back and legs. You can't properly focus on anything while standing, that's basic physiology.

Whoever came up with this, doesn't know the first thing about human physiology.

I am an IT guy, and I can't even think about my tasks while standing, it's a 100% off switch.

I don't know about the physiology of it, but I agree in part with the comment. I'm also an IT guy and have a sit/stand desk. However, I don't believe anyone can apply full concentration all day - if I'm standing when I find I need that extra bit of concentration I lower my desk.

 

[Mark Turner]

Since we're sharing personal anecdotes about experiences with standing desks... I can see how total concentration would improve with less physical resources being expended from sitting vs. standing.

However, I don't have an issue concentrating while working at a standing desk and I suspect some of the problem there is from being distracted by the fact that you're standing at your computer instead of sitting, which will feel unfamiliar for a while. Much of the world works (and thinks) while they stand for a significant portion of the day including computer gigs, hospital staff etc.

If anything, I'd say I feel more engaged/alert when standing, which doesn't necessarily translate directly to more concentration, but again, I also wouldn't say I have less concentration when standing in general.

I don't know how many more calories are burned from standing compared to sitting -- a variable amount depending on individual circumstances -- though I'm not sure why that would be debatable and from personal experience I'm certainly hungrier when standing at desk versus sitting. Besides the fact that standing burns more calories than sitting, I've found that working at a standing desk results in more movement in general/overall.

I'm going on five or more years of primarily working at a standing workstation and can't see myself going back to sitting exclusively, though as the article says, finding ways to be in a variety of positions throughout the day is ideal.

 

[ShagnWagn]

I personally believe that standing increases bloodflow to the brain. Why? Your body is expending more calories, plus circulation is much more natural. Try taking blood pressure and blood-oxygen level measurements as well as heartbeat. Compare them from standing vs sitting.

When I had a requirement to have a standing desk, I felt much better after the first week. As far as people being "tired" - that is like someone who never exercised being tired after a workout. Yes initially, but once you are fit, it feels good and you will continue to do it. I feel more brain-tired sitting at a desk all day.

 

[Kinkoyaburi]

Do you know in many low end jobs people can only dream to sit while they work? Stretch, walk if you need, but standing desk is dumb.