Computer work lying down comfortably with a home-made stand over the bed

I'm a big fan of working while reclined. It gets a lot of naysayers, but as long as you're still moving around regularly, my setup has been amazing for me. Pic of setup: https://i.redd.it/8oh29a2zwqu81.jpg

While I agree with other commenters here that this setup probably isn't a good idea for most people, I want to go out on a limb and say it seems to me the author may have good reason to have undertaken such a project (he specifically mentions that this article is NOT about his motivations). Specifically, just profiling based on the apparent age of the gentleman in the photos, I would not be surprised if this reason was some sort of injury, arthritis, or similar source of pain caused by ordinary sitting-at-a-desk posture. All that is to say, good for him for making a thing that seems to work for his needs, and shame on people jumping to poo-poo this because it's not solving a problem they personally have.

I've worked lying down in a similar fashion for over 10 years.

You really don't need the contraption, just a monitor stand (you can make one out of two bits of wood) or a nearby wall. Also a wireless keyboard (I use the Microsoft Multimedia Keyboard). I used to just use a laptop and when I travel I still do. In both cases I either rest them on my chest or (more often) suspend them in front of me and control them with my fingers and palms.

I'm healthy physically, I just prefer this. I swim, jog, cycle, do weights (I can lift my own body weight (120kgs, 6'1") with my arms vertically and horizontally, pushing and pulling).

The idea you get body sores or other negative effects is ridiculous. You need a good firm surface to look after your back posture, but obviously I'm always moving around, getting up and doing things. I don't wash myself with a rag on a stick.

Extended periods of time in a supine position can lead to a number of health problems including venous stasis, pressure ulcers, and respiratory difficulties. The position of the keyboard and screen can put strain on the neck and shoulders. And let's not get started about sleep problems that are just waiting if you do this.

Even hospitals require patients to be up and moving around, even if they are bedridden. In addition to the issues above, t helps the patient to stay mentally alert and to avoid depression and it helps the patient to build up their strength so that they can eventually be discharged from the hospital. If a patient is unable to move around, say hello to our little friend heparin, prevent venous stasis. If doctors feel this strongly about getting up and moving, even when you can barely do so, imagine how they feel about people who choose to do this for any other reason.

Your hands will get very very cold with anything like this setup.

If you're gonna do this, build something that lets you keep your hands below your chest. It's also well worth learning to use a split keyboard.

If you have a lot of money to spare, you could always get one of these bad boys which are designed to allow one to work flat on ones back including a specially designed magnetic mouse: http://www.altwork.com

That setup seems pretty RSI-prone and antiergonomic to me... Forearms appear to be near-orthogonal to the keyboard, mouse usage requires putting your wrist at nearly 90 degrees, top of screen should be at eye level but appears considerably lower than that. Not to mention, blood flow to the hands may be problematic in longer session, especially for people with low blood pressure

Ok, the author was happy with it after "more than a hundred hours" and did a nice writeup, but I really would think twice before replicating it.

While this position might be comfortable, I would worry about cardiovascular deseases over the long-term. Emulating bedridden people sounds even worse than sitting (for healthy people).

A standing/walking desk seems like a better direction to explore. It's much more natural to do a couple of push-ups or hang from a pull-up bar every 30 mins when you are upright already.

That's less comfortable, but certainly closer to what our bodies need to function well for decades. Lying should be reserved for evenings & nights.

I did this after an injury and began experiencing orthostatic hypertension upon standing after several months. It went away completely after not spending many waking hours a day reclined or lying down, and I don't have any underlying conditions that would cause it.

If I heard correctly in the 1990s, one of the MIT wearable computing people wrote their dissertation while laying down, using their glasses-mounted head-up display and chording keyboard.

(It sounded all the more luxurious in a time when few people had laptops, and the pickings for desktop machines were often slim, and shared.)

I can feel the pins and needles in my hands just by looking at that photo. How do you avoid this while laying down? I would prefer a semi reclined position rather than completely laying down.

The weak link in all these setups is the mouse. Hilariously weak.

"You can use your hand like a hook supporting your arm, with your hand itself transferring the weight onto the edge of the mouse pad."

Really? Seriously? This is one of the least ergonomic things imaginable.

Just use a trackpad and a lot of these problems go away. Trackpads are superior anyway, and you can fix them into a position, you don't have to make all kinds of large motions with your entire arm while holding your arm's weight up, etc.

I wouldn't be able to concentrate over the constant fear that the monitor would fall on my face.

This week on: Hacker meets timber…

I like this, but think a trackpad might improve the awkward mouse setup a lot. Or even a ball-mouse.

For those with laptops that go to a full 180 degree tilt (e.g. a thinkpad), you can sorta do the same thing with a open-legged coffee table.

I curate a subreddit with such experiments at https://reddit.com/r/ergomobilecomputers

Using a VR screen could make a lot of sense here. Along with a split keyboard so he can have his hands flat on either side of his body.

Would also make it easier to get up off the bed

(I’m guessing someone that wants this setup finds getting in and out of bed somewhat challenging as well.)

The only problem with this setup is that you will probably fall asleep more often than not when trying to work... and if you manage to get used to it you will train your brain that "lying down is for work, not for sleep" which is not good either.

For parts of the day, I use a laptop, balanced on a knee, whilst reclined.

Particularly when reading code, rather than writing it. When I need to write something, I'll switch back to the desk.

I go to the gym to avoid muscle atrophy associated with prolonged lying down.

Reminds me of one of these:

https://imperatorworks.com/

They are very expensive, but I've always wondered if getting one would be worth it.

I am pretty sure my hands would go numb in a matter of minutes

Just imagining working in this way seems to induce a feeling of queasiness/nausea within me. Perhaps it's because I've just had a big breakfast!

That mouse setup would insta-kill my wrist. Other than that, looks pretty nice.

Partly related anecdote:

I worked in Bangkok the last 5 years in a digital marketing startup. The well educated locals and expats here were all working on 13" laptops on cheap IKEA tables and 30$ non-office chairs. How can people in a predominantly "digital" job work with 13" laptops? I get the cost saving thing, it's obvious for a startup. Save costs on behalf of employees health.

But a more important factor is a proven decrease of work performance on small single screen workplaces with bad ergonomics.

I managed their IT on the side and whenever we had some cashflow available, they wanted me to order overpriced iMac setups for their designers instead of fully specced out windows desktops for half the price, which would be more cost efficient for a notoriously broke startup. Alternatively they could have invested in proper docking boxes and desks / chairs, which would surely increase the productivity of employees.

I did something very similar to enable true working from home while recovering (slowly) from a herniated disc about 18 years ago: given a work laptop that opened 180 degrees, using scrap and bits from my garage I hacked together a 1 x 12 pine vertical sandwiched between head of bed and wall, with 1/4" plywood horizontal (with rectangular hole jigsaw-cut for laptop screen) fully cantilevered using eye-bolts and metal chain from vertical plywood extension. IBM Model M in lap, with a (now sadly unavailable) MS optical trackball mouse on the bed next to my right hip. There was enough vertical clearance to easily roll in/out of bed (on my left side). Understandably, my wife only tolerated its marring of our bedroom decor until my back was mostly back to normal...

edit: in addition to the expected pillows for my head, a triangular-cross-section firm-foam knee pillow was an essential component of this setup.

For awhile now I've been wondering just who exactly the metaverse is for. I guess this answers that question to some degree.

I've been doing this with a bit of cordelette and two eyehooks for years. I hang my laptop by its hinge on the cordelette, adjust the screen angle to balance, bluetooth trackpad and two keyboards (one for each hand, at my sides). It's really helpful on days where my neck or back act up.

I’d genuinely consider buying a trolley/arm type device that mounts a display such that it would hang over me similar to this design, but could also be advised so it could also be viewed when laying on my side. Most devices are either stupid expensive or stupid ugly though.

As someone with a messed up T10 vertebrae this is the kind of setup I often dream about.

That mouse arrangement looks very uncomfortable

Well I just do it by putting the laptop on my chest and using an external keyboard that also contains one of those touchpad mice like laptops have. Works like a charm and costs way less time / effort. The chest gets a little sore if you use it for too long or too many days in a row, so lately I've been thinking maybe I need to elevate the laptop off my chest a little with a C-shaped table of sorts that the laptop can sit on can sit it on. I get into flow so easily working in such a setup, and wish I could do it more often. I'm considering investing more in my work from bed setup.

I have a my own way of working while lying down: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B082D74N22/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b...

This has a great feature that I can go from lying down to using the same desk standing up.

This works for me for comfort and for back issues. I do yoga twice a day so I am not infirm or compromised in any way. Part of that may be because I alternate with using the desk as a standing desk and a lying desk.

Like others have said this probably isn't a good general solution imho. A solution I don't see mentioned much, if at all, is a draughtsman's chair [1] - they're a tall ergonomic chair that are used by draughtsman. This along with a stand up desk made from ikea bits and pieces is a solution thats lasted me for years.

[1] https://latestchairs.com/draughtsman-chair-features-benefits...

This doesn' t look very easy on arms to me. My current favorite position is use a 30cm small bench and a low desk(less than 1m) with back lean or not lean on sofa cushion. So you can switch squatting and sitting very quickly by moving the small bench. It' s less likely to feel tired with more muscle in stress occasionally. And when you stand up there' s slightly more work done than normal sitting.

The best way I've found is to get a hospital-style "overbed table" and a low bed such as a folding cot. Stretch the overbed table way up and sling your monitor below it, and you're done.

I walk everywhere (prob two car/auto trips in the last year) so deconditioning isn't something I need to worry about.

You just need a $30 monitor arm and a couch with a nearby windowsill: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jld6BSQfDnk

At least if you can touch type, otherwise I suppose you need something for the keyboard.

I've found that typing while reclined is specifically productive for creative writing. Programming and general (home) office work are best while seated on a multi-monitor setup. Writing, however, seems to flow better when I am in the same posture as when I am dreaming.

I can feel my wrists getting cold and going numb just from looking at that photo...

How do you avoid feeling sleepy if you work like that? Is that a problem for you?

It seems the major problem being addressed here is the increased vertical pressure on the spine when in a seated position for an extended time.

Switching to a lying down positions relieves that tension and allows the spine to relax.

There's a YouTuber (Pirate King) who has a somewhat similar setup [1].

[1] https://youtu.be/jld6BSQfDnk

raising my arms like that is tiring. A split keyboard on the bed so that I don't need to awkwardly raise my arms is a better idea than whatever monstrosity that is.

I expect to have a newborn in about a year and I expect that newborn to want to spend a lot of time sleeping on me. I could imagine getting some work done this way.

This is how you lose all your muscle mass.

Heh was trying this with a VR setup , would not say it was worth it/comfortable but that's my opinion.

Why doesn’t he just use a trackball? That has to be better than having a conventional mouse on a shelf

This is interesting. Is the hand position while typing and using mouse for a long time comfortable here?

Unless you have an injury, why would anyone want to do this? It looks like a terrible way to work.

Nice.

But I prefer touch typing with two-piece split keyboards on the bed, instead of raising hands.

This is a really bad idea. Your shoulders and back muscles will go for a toss because a move along the y-axis on a desk translates to a Z-axis move when laying on your back.

I used to use an iPad laying down, and tiny movements that required me to move my shoulder up and down messed me up royally. I speak from experience.

WALL-E warned us of this...

I mean, hats off to one of the greatest pieces of overengineering (and the documenting thereof) in history. Not only does this ensure a comfortable reclining work position — it ensures absolutely no one will ever want to recline with you, either. Pure productivity.

machine learning enabled reclining massage chair with a system of electrodes to stimulate muscle centers when optimal exercise pause detected.

Just buy an oculus quest and get virtual desktop.

This is awesome and sad at the same time!

Wouldn't it be better laying face down?

What about focus? Laying down means different blood pressure in brain than it is in vertical position.

My eyes dry up when looking upwards...

I don’t see why my partner would have an issue with this. Besides, she knows how much more comfortable I am reclined rather than at a desk. That has to count for something …