Programming with an Aggressive Posture

>I noticed the results immediately. I became more focused, more energized, more productive, and found myself solving problems more easily.

It's easy to make a change and become excited that it'll make you more productive, so it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy and makes you more productive.

I'm more interested on changes when they induce long-lasting improvements in behavior, health, or mood.

Also, the article linked to compares effects of posture on circulating blood volume. Do we know how circulating blood volume affects productivity? This article doesn't tell us. The researchers tested lying down vs. standing up with armrests, not sitting with an "aggressive stance" vs slouching.

I think most people who talk about posture recommend an upright posture, not an "aggressive", leaned-forward posture. (Without being an expert, I've looked at The Alexander Technique, Feldenkrais, standard physical therapy theories and some other theory).

While there's debate about the details, most ideas of "good posture" are based on the idea that when the spine is balanced and so upright, your muscles don't have to exert continuous effort to support you whereas in any "leaning" posture, either forward or backward, involves one's muscles do have be tensed into a rigid position as they part of your body's support system.

Posture maintenance is one reason I fell in love with the Swopper, an "active sitting" stool that I describe to inquisitive friends as being equivalent to a "German-engineered exercise ball that looks like a stool and doesn't pop".

I bought it because the health benefits sounded intriguing, but mainly because I needed an affordable "ergonomic" seat that would fit within a small footprint. (At the time, my home office was very small)

I purchased one for just under $500 just shy of five years ago, and I never regret a single penny spent on it. I have used it for full-time work for all of those years, and I've never had a negative feeling of "I'm in pain because I've been sitting all day". The only drawback I experienced was that I napped more than usual during the first week or two, since "active" sitting does indeed use more energy than traditional "passive" sitting.

I should mention that prior to the Swopper I used cheap office chairs, so I can't compare it to using an exercise ball or high-end ergonomic seating. That said though, I think the Swopper is a great product for anyone looking for affordable ergonomic seating with small footprint.

Also, yelling at your code might help to debug faster.

Would coding in isosceles or Weaver-stance count?

The linked document shows physiological differences (circulation, etc.) with an erect posture, but makes no claims about the sitter being more "productive" or any of the other claims this post makes. Perhaps the author can cite other sources rather than lazily suggesting "if you need more proof just google the 'effects of posture'."

On the other hand, there is research that suggests that sitting up straight or leaning forward is not as good for your back as leaning back:

http://www.motleyhealth.com/news/slouching-back-is-good-for-...

Wait... He makes an active decision to work more aggressively and chooses sitting up straight as the method.

...Sure its not the fact he made the decision the first place and is sticking to it, rather than the sitting?