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I built a lay-down desk

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Re: I built a lay-down desk

#21
post #17

> Nobody ever says anything bad about laying down Really? Then let me be the first: IT'S "LYING DOWN", FFS! You can be laying down the law, but on a bed you are usually "lying down". This has been a public service announcement, et cetera, et cetera.

The key is the tense.

The past tense of "lie" is "lay", which is where the confusion comes from, whereas the past tense of "lay" is "laid". Handy chart[1].

After I laid bricks this morning, I was tired and lay down.

Not: *After I layed bricks this morning, I was tired and lied down.

[1]: https://grammarist.com/usage/lay-lie/

Re: I built a lay-down desk

#23
post #8
post #5

A friend once said “There’s all these studies about how bad sitting is for you. Now there are even studies about how bad standing desks are for you. Nobody ever says anything bad about laying down so I just try to do that as much as possible.” I still laugh. Perhaps true in part though.

The worst potential consequence of laying down is that your back muscles would become weaker. This is one of the reasons why sitting harms your back, and with laying down it would be even worse. Unless it's combined with some exercise it could be a really bad idea.

Are there good exercises for your back to offset sitting? Body weight exercises would be ideal.

Re: I built a lay-down desk

#24
post #17

> Nobody ever says anything bad about laying down Really? Then let me be the first: IT'S "LYING DOWN", FFS! You can be laying down the law, but on a bed you are usually "lying down". This has been a public service announcement, et cetera, et cetera.

For anyone seeking further clarification, this is the difference between "lie", an intransitive verb (takes no object) and "lay", a transitive verb which takes an object.

So, you lie in bed, but you lay something down.

The two different verbs tenses are confusing though:

lie, lay (past), lain (past participle). You lay in bed last night or had lain in bed.

lay, laid (past and past participle).

Also, to get laid is something that often happens while lying in bed. And of course, lie has multiple meanings, and people will sometime lie to get laid and then lie in bed to do so.

(English is lunatic language.)

Re: I built a lay-down desk

#25
post #5

A friend once said “There’s all these studies about how bad sitting is for you. Now there are even studies about how bad standing desks are for you. Nobody ever says anything bad about laying down so I just try to do that as much as possible.” I still laugh. Perhaps true in part though.

IME it's not sitting or standing or lying down that's injurious, it's not moving. My pain to a large extent went away when I stopped staying so still. Now I change my posture on the regular, from leaning against the backrest to sitting away from it to taking little breaks to pace around a bit.

Similarly, I used to get eye strain from all the screen time. Until I moved to an office with a view and I found myself staring out whenever I would zone out to think. Now I'm working from home and don't have the same inducement to look out and my eyes have started bothering me again. I try to observe 20-20-20 (every 20 minutes spend 20 seconds looking at something 20 feet away) but it's not quite the same.

Re: I built a lay-down desk

#26
post #20

This looks comfortable, but I wonder if I'd actually be productive in this. I tried sitting on an exercise ball for a while for posture, and it definitely was a small nagging distraction. I find I'm 95% equally productive with a standing desk, but I have noticed that when I'm embarking on a couple hours of focused work, I lower it to seated.

I'm actually the opposite. I noticed that when I'm focused on work, I like to stand more!

Re: I built a lay-down desk

#27
post #17

> Nobody ever says anything bad about laying down Really? Then let me be the first: IT'S "LYING DOWN", FFS! You can be laying down the law, but on a bed you are usually "lying down". This has been a public service announcement, et cetera, et cetera.

Hey friend, take a breath. Idk what’s going on in your world but you sound pretty stressed.

As someone who shares bloak's sentiment, there's two different verbs, lay and lie, and pointing out the difference is a hill worth dying on. (I doubt bloak is actually upset. It's mock outrage.)

Edit: I was actually confused by the title of the submission which is illustrative of the distinction between the two words.

To me, a lay down desk is a desk that can be laid flat, and that's what I thought this was going to be. Some kind of desk that could be easily collapsed to make space.

Whereas, a lie down desk is a desk you lie down to use.

Re: I built a lay-down desk

#30
I'm having trouble deciding if the construction and woodworking are excellent, terrible, or both :)

At first it looks really flimsy and jumbled together. But on closer inspection it seems more stable, and ultimately the proof of the pudding is in the tasting.

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