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Comment by sliverstorm | Hacker News Reader

Considering driving a vehicle or taking the bus/train is usually a sitting activity, to get down to the 3 hours or below mentioned in the article you'd basically have to have

a) a standing desk

b) a job that doesn't involve sitting

Has anyone proven, by the way, that a standing desk actually solves things?

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Most people that I know who work or have worked in the service industry say that standing around is much more uncomfortable than actively moving about. I can't find the source at the moment, but I do remember reading an article essentially stating that humans physically aren't meant to really just "stand still" for extended periods (hours) - we should be moving about.

I think the soviets forced prisoners to stand as a form of torture. Standing still apparently literally destroys your legs after some time.

i.e. varicose veins.

It's actually kind of cool how it works. Your legs have one-way valves in the blood vessels. Normally, the flexing muscles help pump the blood back up the leg by pinching the vessels. When you stand still, there is no flexing and no pumping, and the blood pools in your legs.

You don't really have to stand still, you can fidget around. Stand on one leg, switch to the other. Shake a little to the music, etc.. Switch to sitting from time to time. If you're hardcore you can even get a treadmill to go with it.

If you're hardcore you can even get a treadmill to go with it.

So in a recent episode of PAX TV they showed one of the penny arcade creators had a gaming system installed in front of a treadmill. Obviously programming's going to be a lot more difficult while walking than playing a video game, so perhaps program the treadmill to move forward a few feet every 30 seconds or so? It might be enough of a small change that you can learn to ignore the small movement while standing and may keep the body from getting stiff.

Get a bar-stool height chair for your work station and place it slightly too far away from your desk for sitting, encouraging you to 'perch', which is good for your posture, but may also allow you to switch more stream-lessly.

My wife recently pulled her hip by standing for long periods at a copy machine. I wouldn't really say it's better than sitting. However, I suppose when every vein in your legs has gone varicose, it's going to be very hard for DVT's to form when you are sitting.

Venous stasis is a part of Virchow's triad (for developing thrombosis) and thrombophlebitis is a common complication of varicose veins. I wouldn't be looking forward to varicose veins just yet ;-)

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