Stand to Work If You Like, but Don't Brag About the Benefits

Not particularly convinced by this.

All the article is saying is "no studies have confirmed that standing desks are correlated with positive health effects."

Given that standing desks are a relatively new thing, and as they mention there are no good studies either way, that's not very surprising.

And the evidence that sitting a lot is bad for you is still there.

So the hypothesis that not sitting all day is a good idea still looks pretty valid, and sit-stand desks seem like a decent way to achieve that.

For someone who has a herniated disc in the lumbar spine a stand-up desk has been life changing.

I genuinely think if I'd had such a desk before and stood for say 20 minutes in the hour I wouldn't have got into the mess I did with my back.

While some of the benefits may be over-stated I am convinced variety during the day (sitting and standing) significantly benefits the spine.

The report just confirms my gut on this issue. I had to stand all day when i worked retail during high school as well as undergrad and i couldn't fathom why people would think it's significantly better.

I have a desk that I can move between standing and sitting with the touch of a button.

I love the versatility -- I am certainly more alert while standing. That being said, I feel no more or less healthy, but the alertness impact is immediate and noticeable.

I'll happily tout the benefits to me thank you very much!

My standing desk[1] has been a lifesaver in terms of minimizing my sciatica. I tried a few different (expensive) ergonomic chairs, but nothing has been as good for me as standing has.

Whether or not standing at a desk will make you live longer is irrelevant to me. As the other comments here confirm, for some of us the tangible benefits are obvious. Try it out for a few weeks and see how you make out.

[1] http://randlet.com/static/img/standing_desk.jpg

Treadmill desks work for me? You can pull out studies for or against I don't really care.

I haven't been at my current weight in over a decade. I do 30 miles a week on it. It's tiring. If that's not exercise then ???

I did this for about ~6 months and developed knees that ached all the time. I was running at the same time, so maybe that had something to do with it, but really I never noticed some huge health or energy shift.

The thing I will say about it though is that if you're tired, standing keeps you paying attention whereas sitting can make you slouch and relax. This is useful right after lunch, but all day? Save your legs the trouble and join a gym if it's your physical health you're worried about.

Science is terrible at understanding long-term effects on complex systems (such as the human body). At some point you just have to listen to your intuition and evaluate things with a sample size of 1.

For me, buying an adjustable desk two years ago has been a fantastic investment. I usually spend the middle of the day sitting, but I love to stand right after breakfast (I get tired when I sit down in the morning) and when I play multiplayer games after dinner.

In my opinion, standing vs sitting is irrelevant as long as you work out and have some muscles to support your spine and help maintaining good posture for long-ish periods of time.

I would guess fitness accounts for at least 70% of not having back problems, which makes me believe people with a strong back can sit/stand however the hell they want.

Can anyone enlighten me with any research or articles that correlates with my beliefs?

How is standing up new or fashion?

Someone told me an architect studio was selling old stuff and we could probably be interested on some things so we could pay a visit...

I was socked when I saw they were replacing an entire room of drawing tables that architects used standing up, with computers that people used sitting down.

With the drawing tables there were stools. It was normal in chemical labs, repair shops, teachers giving a class, lots of places.

You could sit when you wanted, you could stand when you wanted. That is how I had been working for years, with my computer at eyes' level, with a stool I could sit when I want. Half the time I stand, half I sit without really sitting down, I just support my weight on the stool.

So because mouse and keyboard computers are hard to move like we do and are not very ergonomical, we degrade ourselves to computer level: we stare to near displays and don't move at all for hours.

For me it is not a long term solution. Improvements will happen over time.

I stand at work and at home. I'm standing 90% of the time on a computer, and that's most of the day. First, if there's evidence that sitting down all the time is bad, then NOT doing that is already better. Second, and most importantly, standing is better not because you're not sitting down, but because you're in an active state, in a position ready to move around.

If you stand in exactly one position for hours (as if you're stuck in a chair) then you're doing it wrong. Standing up is really about having the freedom to move around as you're reading things on the computer, or taking micro-breaks to stretch your arm, etc. Constantly being in motion is the best way to stay active and use the computer all day.

I have had an adjustable desk (sit or stand) for the past eight years. The biggest benefit in my mind is the variation you get from switching between sitting and standing. Burning calories was never a goal.

I am particularly happy to be able to stand when I feel like it, because I had a pretty severe case of RSI in my arms, and thought that I would not be able to continue to work as a programmer. The biggest help came from using a break program, coupled with an ergonomic keyboard and mouse, but standing also helps.

More details here: http://henrikwarne.com/2012/02/18/how-i-beat-rsi/

We seem to be best adapted to squat and hunker, not sit in a chair or even stand straight.

No studies that I can find, but when I lived in Asia, older men who gathered to chat, play cards, etc., tended to squat. There were still lots of squat toilets around, too.

I'm thinking of building a platform so I can squat at my desk rather than sit on my tush. Alternatively, would like to power my computer by pedaling or cross-treading, but that's probably a bigger project than I have time for.

But squatting, that's underrated in Western culture. It feels great; more should do it, and not just while on the toilet.

I think it's better to invest in figuring out ergonomics of your sitting desk, chair, arm rests, wrists, keyboard position, monitor position, etc etc. Combine with regular breaks, walks outside, etc and you're getting improved energy and less burnout. Ideally your employer invests in a good office as well, with excellent ventilation, plants abound, and lots of light -- but this is rare.

This article should just say "do what works for you and keep it to yourself." Why does everyone need to evangelize every single decision?

Anecdotal on my part, but previous, intermittent lower back pain basically gone after I began standing about two years ago.

Anecdotally, standing for half the day has helped my hemorrhoids. Not sure if they were caused by sitting for 8+ hours a day in a desk chair, but not sitting definitely helps. Not something I brag about though :)

My grandmother ran a store and was on her feet all day long. She had really bad vericose veins when she was older. That is a real problem with standing.

At the very least, I imagine standing for long periods of time burns more calories than sitting.

Useless clickbait. Nobody ever claimed that the one and only benefit of standing is to "burn excess calories".

Personally I had developed back pain from too much sitting. When I stand, I have better posture and so I don't get the pain.

OMG the comments on that article... a significant chunk of the threads are talking about the freaking stock-photo model. when will I learn NEVER READ THE COMMENTS (whitelist=HN,Metafilter)

I like a standing desk. I have had chronic back problems aggravated by a slumping chair posture, and 100% standing for the last year or so has been (I feel) really helpful.