11–20 of 167 posts
We would do better for ourselves to get rid of chairs entirely and sit on the floor. Getting down and up from the floor is a natural human movement that would keep us all fitter into old age.
Have you tried sitting on the floor and work with a keyboard ? Do you have a setup you could share ? I suppose Japanese should have something fitting but that might be a stereotype.
Then I transitioned to working from home and built my own standing desk (sadly before the very affordable mechanical Ikea standing desk was first released... But which I have now happily used for years).
The first few weeks were challenging, but within three months I could stand for 12+ hours a day, and my hip problems went away. Also my overall energy seemed higher, and afternoon energy dips became less noticeable.
For 13 years now I stand for virtually all of my day, and I have no back or hip problems. I do have slight spider veins on my ankles and knees, and that may be due in part to the standing. But it is cosmetic and barely visible, and totally worth the trade.
We would do better for ourselves to get rid of chairs entirely and sit on the floor. Getting down and up from the floor is a natural human movement that would keep us all fitter into old age.
Have you tried sitting on the floor and work with a keyboard ? Do you have a setup you could share ? I suppose Japanese should have something fitting but that might be a stereotype.
The worst chair in the world is the American high school/college desk+chair combo like this one https://www.schooloutlet.com/v/vspfiles/assets/images/Screen... The people making and buying these place are committing crimes against humanity.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
They’re find for like 15-20 minutes, but after that, they’re unbearably uncomfortable. I remember starting to fidget quite a bit after about 20 minutes in those chairs/desks. It made sense, but it just wasn’t ergonomic. Imagine sitting there for 50 minutes, having 10 minutes to get to the next lecture, and repeating that three times in a short span. It’s awful.
Fortunately being spry and youthful offsets those disadvantages. The only real crime of those chairs is enforcing right handedness on left handed students. This discomfort could be enough to create a slightly lower academic performance for left handed students on average compared to right handed.
When the WFH wave hit, people seemed to be going mad buying webcams and office chairs. Loads of people I work with spent a lot of energy researching and discussing chairs etc.
I have a sit-stand desk and I stand for perhaps 2 to 3 hours any working day. But the rest of the time I just sit on a normal old wooden dining chair. No pain. No aches. No RSI. No CTS.
I've been doing this for decades and nothing seems to have gone wrong yet. I do run 2 to 4 times a week so I do wonder if that helps avoid problems?
Are all the uber-expensive office chairs just snake oil? Or have I just been lucky?
At age 35, otherwise healthy and having spent 10 years in Herman Miller Aeron chairs, I had hip problems and a small but growing waistline. Then I transitioned to working from home and built my own standing desk (sadly before the very affordable mechanical Ikea standing desk was first released... But which I have now happily used for years). The first few weeks were challenging, but within three months I could stand…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Have you tried sitting on the floor and work with a keyboard ? Do you have a setup you could share ? I suppose Japanese should have something fitting but that might be a stereotype.
https://www.nutritiousmovement.com/furniture-free-ahs13/ is an example of someone doing this in their home. Personally, my setup is a coffee table along with a zafu (buckwheat hull filled floor cushion) and sheepskins or a zabuton to cushion the floor a little. It's very comfortable, although I'd like to also have a standing desk to go with it. Coffee tables tend to be a pretty good height for this purpose if you wan…
Interesting reading, thanks.
Would you be so kind as to share a picture of your setup ? To have a rough idea of heights, space arrangements, elbow positioning, etc. ?
At age 35, otherwise healthy and having spent 10 years in Herman Miller Aeron chairs, I had hip problems and a small but growing waistline. Then I transitioned to working from home and built my own standing desk (sadly before the very affordable mechanical Ikea standing desk was first released... But which I have now happily used for years). The first few weeks were challenging, but within three months I could stand…
How do you type standing for long periods of time? Do you rest your arms on the table?