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Comment by hartator | Hacker News Reader

I still don't get standing desk, how can you can concentrate deeply while standing? I guess not for everyone.

I guess I don't see the connection between standing, sitting, and concentration?

I definitely think typing and using a mouse while standing takes some getting used to (in particular if you rest your arm on an armrest while seated); but concentration itself, to me at least, is not correlated.

I will say I think simply standing as a health benefit exists but is overblown. If you really want health benefits you have to move, so now we're talking about: treadmill desks or exercises.

For many people (myself included), standing up feels like working, sitting feels like being lazy.

I find it a lot easier, these days, than sitting. I can move around, I can pace a little. One of my clients only has sit-down desks and, in addition to being really stiff in the knees afterwards, I always feel cramped and a little restricted. I notice it, and it distracts me from what I'm working on.

My standing desk is also just high enough to fit my exercise bike under it (if I take off the handlebars), and that is really nice.

If you get a drafting stool you can sit at your standing height desk for whatever you need to do while sitting but it's still much more natural to transition between sitting and standing/pacing which can encourage not sitting all day/hashing things out on a white board/grabbing a book off the shelf (plus you can remain seated and still be mostly eye level with people that drop by for a chat).

This is what I use: http://amzn.to/1MSrSNa

For me, using a stool makes the switch back and forth between sitting and standing much more seamless. And it's the shifting weight and switching positions that gives you most of the benefit anyway.

You ever pace around the room while thinking about a problem? That's not the same as just standing in place, but put a treadmill under one of these and you've got a great way to get your mind working. There's something about moving your body that unblocks the brain.

Light physical activity does facilitate good thinking for some reason.

Sitting in a chair for 8hrs a day at work, sometimes I have difficulty concentrating because my shoulders/neck hurt. I have a stand-up desk at home and I love it.

That is why adjustable is key. Reading some emails or in a meeting? Good time to stand. Need to deep dive in some crazy code - sit.

I find it hard to really concentrate on a problem when just sitting in a chair. I'll often get up and walk around the room or pace up and down the corridor. Standing at my desk alleviates some of that need for me, while still letting me be in front of a computer. That being said I rarely stand for a full day, preferring to alternate between standing and sitting during the day.

Agreed - I've found myself standing more and more over the last couple years, though. I think I'm up to six hours or so out of an eight-hour day, either in socks on an anti-fatigue mat or wearing my basketball shoes. I feel so much better, and I find I can "lock in" on a problem more effectively.

For me it really comes down to the type of concentration I need. For times when I know both what needs to be done and how I want to do it and I just have to put hands to keyboard and focus on getting it done, then I prefer to sit. For times when I trying to get a grip on a problem or wrap my mind around how to solve something then standing works much better.

Working standing up has similar effects as 'pacing around', when needing to think about something intently, gripped by thought enough that you're compelled to move around a little... I can't imagine being deep in thought and just sitting still.

That said, I don't use a standing desk, I just occasionally stand up and work from a counter when I feel compelled.

> Working standing up has similar effects as 'pacing around', when needing to think about something intently, gripped by thought enough that you're compelled to move around a little... I can't imagine being deep in thought and just sitting still.

It's really hard. I have had to get used to it, though, because I have yet to work in a place with enough space where I can do that.

Depends on the person. I sometimes stand and eat, even walk around and eat if my plate is not heavy. And have heard a earful for it ("it is not healthy" yada yada).

I use one, never had any issues with it. My wife says the same thing, she can NOT stand and concentrate.

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