Hacker News Reader

Comment by bluGill | Hacker News Reader

Unfortunately while there is evidence that sitting all day is bad, we don't know if/what alternatives are good. Is standing better, or do you need to move? Maybe it is staring at something close (monitor, papers...) and sitting is only bad as a proxy (I know of no study that can actually say that hypothesis is wrong even though I just made it up). Modern life currently requires a lot of people to spend a lot of time at computers, so we need to know how to be healthy while at computers.

I like having a motorized desk, but I don't think I could actually stand all day long, (other than the same breaks someone sitting all day would take). I tried a treadmill desk a time or two, but I don't have the option of using it daily.

View on HN

I think the only real alternative is to get rid of the 8+ hour work day.

Correct me if there is evidence to the contrary, but I don't think humans were designed to sit or stand in one position for extended periods of time, habitually.

Unfortunately I don't see the 8 hour work day going away any time soon, so imo the best option is to alternate sitting/standing and take as many walking around breaks as possible.

I don't mind the work day so much, it's the work week that bothers me most. I would rather have a standard 4 day work week.

I could get behind that, even if I worked a 40 hour week still. Four 10 hour shift would not be bad.

Have you considered a career in healthcare, e.g. nursing or EMT?

> Correct me if there is evidence to the contrary, but I don't think humans were designed to sit or stand in one position for extended periods of time, habitually.

Hard evidence? I can't give you that. But look at all of the other mammals out there. Almost all of them spend substantial amounts of time sitting.

Traditional hunter-gatherer societies do almost of their work and food processing sitting down. Every hobbyist flint-knapper works sitting down.

The difference is they don't use chairs. Sitting in a chair is bad - just consider the risk of embolisms on long flights. It removes the need for your body to actively support itself and restricts motion. Anecdote of size one, but for me the biggest help was getting rid of the traditional "throne" chair and replacing it a very broad stool. I can comfortably sit cross legged on it all day. I'm constantly moving and shifting my weight forwards and back, leaning and reaching since I can't just roll a chair around.

It has required making some unusual furniture to use a computer comfortably. Like all of my keyboards are tilted the "wrong" way (away from me) with the front higher than the back. Much easier on my hands and wrists.

>Like all of my keyboards are tilted the "wrong" way (away from me) with the front higher than the back. Much easier on my hands and wrists.

Like the horizontally staggered rows of keys, the traditional tilt is a skeuomorphism of a mechanical typewriter. There's no good reason for it to be preserved in electronic keyboards. Ergonomic keyboards are usually tilted the opposite way, with the front higher than the back. This better matches the natural tilt of your hands when you hold them in front of yourself.

Got any pictures of this stool?

Yeah I'd be curious to see as well, if it's got some unique properties to it that would be useful to take example from :)

No, it is basically a boring hard flat piece of wood. Think of a bit of floor raised up off the ground. No back or arms.

Traditional hunter-gatherer societies blend into their daily schedule some amount of sitting, some amount of walking, also running, also climbing trees, perhaps swimming, etc.

It's the variety that's the key difference. We do the same thing (whether that be sitting in a chair, or felling trees in the forest) all day long, for decades. The monotonous schedule seems to be the problem; we're not evolutionarily adapted to it.

> the best option is to alternate sitting/standing and take as many walking around breaks as possible.

Agreed. This works great for me.

The 8 hour day contributes, sure, but it's more than just that. Because I live in a city that allows it, I walk to/from work and to/from lunch every day. And to/from any other errand that needs doing. People who drive to suburban office parks do none of this.

It's not just what you're doing for the 8 hours that you're at your desk. A lot of us have arranged our entire lives to require no physical movement.

Prolonged standing increases risk of varicose veins. It seems likely that mixing sitting and standing would be best. In what proportions, I don't know. Walking is likely to be a good substitute for simple standing in most people. It improves veinous return, puts some healthy impact into the legs, increases uptake of glucose from the blood stream by the leg muscles, gives the heart and lungs a little extra work, etc.

I developed plantar fasciitis in both feet after a year of standing only (using a pad on the floor). I switched to a drafting stool to help clear it up. One heel got better after a couple of months but the other one took about six months to clear up.

I just started standing again, but I will be switching between sitting and standing to avoid getting plantar fasciitis again. I do enjoy (and actually prefer) standing. I also noticed my posture improving when I work while standing.

I've been working standing up for seven years now (ruptured discs). It's given me spider veins in my legs and feet. There needs to be more awareness of this downside. I hardly ever see it discussed.

I started running in the past few years but have not paid close enough attention to be able to determine whether or not that has improved the situation. I am also going to start alternating between sitting and standing. I am hopeful that these measures in combination can improve the situation.

There is some evidence that having to stand all day is bad for you:

https://www.runnersworld.com/sweat-science/standing-all-day-...

Standing desk + anti fatigue mat + tall rolling chair. You can sit or stand any time, don't have to adjust the desk, and standing is less tiring. No need for an adjustable desk is also cheaper.

I will say the one downside is I'm short and even at the lowest settings the tall rolling chairs sometimes have the foot rest too far away for me. I prefer to rest my feet on the floor.

My guess is that the solution involves squatting instead of sitting, although the West has lost the ability to squat comfortably for prolonged periods of time.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com