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Why Standing Desks Are Overrated

nytimes.com

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Re: Why Standing Desks Are Overrated

#41

Post by akvadrako »

malnourish wrote: post #19
bpicolo wrote: post #3

Best strategy is just drinking enough that you need to hit the restroom with reasonable frequency. You stay hydrated and get well-timed walking/headspace breaks. Win-win.

Anecdotal, but be wary. I drank a lot of water for a long time (120+ ounces a day of water, plus whatever else I would drink). I was constantly thirsty and was worried I had diabetes. It turns out I was drinking _too_ much water and was flushing out valuable electrolytes from my system. Drinking less paradoxically left me feeling quenched, but it took a doctor's visit and blood work to resolve.

Indeed, you have to be careful not to overdose on water. More people die from too much water than too little.

Re: Why Standing Desks Are Overrated

#42

Post by AstralStorm »

malnourish wrote: post #9

Interesting. I'm always a fan of research challenging wisdom, although I'm not sure who really thought standing alone was exercise. I've found greatly improved comfort with my standing desk at work and I want to upgrade my home desk once I move. I hope that the lack of evidence for specific health improvements doesn't encourage companies to stop offering the desks.

I'm waiting for the desks with integrated threadmill and bicycle.

Ooof, apparently no one wants sweaty and loud coworkers.

Re: Why Standing Desks Are Overrated

#43

Post by pc86 »

malnourish wrote: post #19
bpicolo wrote: post #3

Best strategy is just drinking enough that you need to hit the restroom with reasonable frequency. You stay hydrated and get well-timed walking/headspace breaks. Win-win.

Anecdotal, but be wary. I drank a lot of water for a long time (120+ ounces a day of water, plus whatever else I would drink). I was constantly thirsty and was worried I had diabetes. It turns out I was drinking _too_ much water and was flushing out valuable electrolytes from my system. Drinking less paradoxically left me feeling quenched, but it took a doctor's visit and blood work to resolve.

If you are physically active with either intense cardio or weightlifting 3-5+ hours a week, you need to eat enough that 120 ounces is basically the starting point the proper hydration.

As with most things physiological, the system is a balancing act with a lot of independent variables that need to be taken into account. If you eat two meals of 800-1k calories each, and you don't work out, a gallon of water a day is probably way too much. You may be mildly dehydrated but you'll feel just as bad flushing out the electrolytes as you mentioned. But if you're working out consistently, building muscle, and eating 3k-4k calories a day to support that level of activity, 180-200 ounces of water a day is nothing.

Re: Why Standing Desks Are Overrated

#45

Post by dymk »

Cacti wrote: post #23
WhompingWindows wrote: post #8

This article is by a pediatrician, not a physical therapist or a subject matter expert. The article basically consists of the author pointing to some studies on the subject and concluding that there's not yet definitive, decisive evidence as to the long-term benefits of standing desks. Anyone who reads about standing desks knew that already. And, as someone who is known amongst friends and colleagues for using one, I…

What is your point? You criticize the author for claiming there is no evidence that standing desks improve health, yet you provide absolutely no evidence to the contrary.

That’s not how the burden of proof works. The author claims that they’re “overrated”, yet doesn’t provide evidence to support that claim.

We shouldn’t be so used to headlines not matching up with article content, but then again, it’s 2018.

Re: Why Standing Desks Are Overrated

#46

Post by bpicolo »

akvadrako wrote: post #41
malnourish wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anecdotal, but be wary. I drank a lot of water for a long time (120+ ounces a day of water, plus whatever else I would drink). I was constantly thirsty and was worried I had diabetes. It turns out I was drinking _too_ much water and was flushing out valuable electrolytes from my system. Drinking less paradoxically left me feeling quenched, but it took a doctor's visit and blood work to resolve.

Indeed, you have to be careful not to overdose on water. More people die from too much water than too little.

You don't need to be particularly careful. Apparently, the stats show the vast majority of deaths from overhydration in normal individuals are the result of water-drinking contests or exercise-related overhydration in ultramarathons and similar

Re: Why Standing Desks Are Overrated

#47

Post by keymone »

Cacti wrote: post #23
WhompingWindows wrote: post #8

This article is by a pediatrician, not a physical therapist or a subject matter expert. The article basically consists of the author pointing to some studies on the subject and concluding that there's not yet definitive, decisive evidence as to the long-term benefits of standing desks. Anyone who reads about standing desks knew that already. And, as someone who is known amongst friends and colleagues for using one, I…

What is your point? You criticize the author for claiming there is no evidence that standing desks improve health, yet you provide absolutely no evidence to the contrary.

The sitting desks are overrated. There is not enough evidence to support the claim that sitting desks improve health. Sitting desks are a ploy by chair manufacturing industry to make you buy expensive chairs even though all experts agree that sitting does not replace exercise.

Re: Why Standing Desks Are Overrated

#48

Post by keymone »

The sitting desks are overrated. There is not enough evidence to support the claim that sitting desks improve health. Sitting desks are a ploy by chair manufacturing industry to make you buy expensive chairs even though all experts agree that sitting does not replace exercise.

Re: Why Standing Desks Are Overrated

#49

Post by [deleted] »

JshWright wrote: post #24
WhompingWindows wrote: post #8

This article is by a pediatrician, not a physical therapist or a subject matter expert. The article basically consists of the author pointing to some studies on the subject and concluding that there's not yet definitive, decisive evidence as to the long-term benefits of standing desks. Anyone who reads about standing desks knew that already. And, as someone who is known amongst friends and colleagues for using one, I…

The "overrated" claim is that standing desks address the health concerns of sitting too much (a claim that I have heard many, many times). There is no evidence to support that claim. Your third paragraph accuses the author of cherry-picking the studies. Is there an example of a study you feel they should have included that supports your accusation? The author is not claiming to be a subject matter expert. The fact th…

[deleted]

Re: Why Standing Desks Are Overrated

#50

Post by 3pt14159 »

JshWright wrote: post #24
WhompingWindows wrote: post #8

This article is by a pediatrician, not a physical therapist or a subject matter expert. The article basically consists of the author pointing to some studies on the subject and concluding that there's not yet definitive, decisive evidence as to the long-term benefits of standing desks. Anyone who reads about standing desks knew that already. And, as someone who is known amongst friends and colleagues for using one, I…

The "overrated" claim is that standing desks address the health concerns of sitting too much (a claim that I have heard many, many times). There is no evidence to support that claim. Your third paragraph accuses the author of cherry-picking the studies. Is there an example of a study you feel they should have included that supports your accusation? The author is not claiming to be a subject matter expert. The fact th…

There is some evidence[0], but people expect magic bullets, when the reality is that small gains here and there are useful. The only magic bullets I've found are cutting out refined sugar and heart pumping exercise at least 15 minutes a day, and ideally an hour.

If it matters, my back pain largely went away when I switched to working while standing for three or four hours a day.

[0] E.g., http://www.sjweh.fi/show_abstract.php?abstract_id=3740

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