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Standing desk might be as bad as sitting all day

sciencealert.com

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Re: Standing desk might be as bad as sitting all day

#221

Post by exe34 »

taberiand wrote: post #98
chimpansteve wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed, and many of mine do when I'm out with the dog or on the toilet. The thing is that those are unscripted. The point that I think the OP was making was that enforced breaks on a schedule will immediately kill any form of concentration or workflow

Absolutely, it's the regimented and very frequent schedule that is the problem. Breaks are necessary, and very useful - but if that frequency is what I have to do to stay healthy with a desk job, then I guess I'll be unhealthy Basically - movement isn't free

> but if that frequency is what I have to do to stay healthy with a desk job, then I guess I'll be unhealthy

That's an interesting lifestyle choice, but don't be shocked if others refuse to follow along.

Re: Standing desk might be as bad as sitting all day

#222

Post by dmead »

grues-dinner wrote: post #50
dmead wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lol did you just invent a terminal from the 1970s, but a cell phone?

Sounds like the hand terminals from The Expanse which you can flick onto any nearby display. Which I dearly would like to see, but the protocol and security implications make my head hurt.

sure, but those are alot of words to be entirely unoriginal.

Re: Standing desk might be as bad as sitting all day

#223

Post by notepad0x90 »

tbrownaw wrote: post #114
notepad0x90 wrote: post #30

My idea to solve all this would be to change how computing is done. We don't talk about radical disruptive ideas enough these days. What if we don't have to interact with computers from a stationary position at all? VR headsets are one direction that might help with this, but in my view there is another way. Decouple peripherals and computing units fully. You'd carry around with you a battery unit that will charge di…

So ... a cellphone plus random screens available to cast to plus a Bluetooth keyboard small enough to wear on your arm.

more like a hand movement sensor than a keyboard but yeah. it would also act as a mouse if you pinch your index finger and thumb on either hand.

One other important piece you're missing is that the displays are "cellphone" aren't permanently paired. and the "cellphone" could be a computing device of any size. your displays would interface with the larger computer at stores or smaller computers when you go about your day in public (street lamps, directions, information, subway,etc..). instead of a smart thermostat with a touch screen for example, you'd just bring your display near a wall (and/or actual thermostat) and interface with it. flying? just bring up your lightweight display and have it interface with the plane's computer for entertainment and information. So, instead of "cellphone" think, "thin client" but with modern wireless+battery tech.

Re: Standing desk might be as bad as sitting all day

#224

Post by deprecative »

michaelt wrote: post #163
jltsiren wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is not about exercise. Extended periods of inactivity are bad for your health, even if you are physically active. If the nature of your job is sedentary, you should interrupt the inactivity often enough. This is something all employers should accommodate. Either voluntarily, due to market pressure, or by regulation if more reasonable approaches fail.

Every employer I've ever had, even doing factory and warehouse work, has split the day into circa-2-hour blocks, with a morning break, a lunch break and an afternoon break. When folks are working a production line the bosses have to coordinate it - but in an office there's more flexibility. And if someone in an office wants to skip their breaks to leave early, or have a larger number of shorter breaks, they generally…

Most people don't get meaningful breaks.

Re: Standing desk might be as bad as sitting all day

#225

Post by deprecative »

safety1st wrote: post #79
deprecative wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Butts in seats is a very poor way to get productivity. It is, however, management enforced. Management only pretends to care about productivity. Until managerial ideology shifts we'll never bother. I think countries beyond the US have a much better prospect of doing this.

People need to stop expecting their employer to solve this problem, because they won't. They're not responsible for making you exercise. The most efficient way to incorporate exercise into your day is to make it part of your commute. Walking, biking, taking the train etc. - different modes are viable for different locations. If you choose a job where this is not possible, you're just going to have to make it up some…

Atomic solutions to systemic problems obfuscate the core issue. Butt in seats in the US means you sit for about an hour to go to work then eight to nine at the office and another hour back home.

Most people can't change their commute. Pedestrian infrastructure is simply not there. Public transit doesn't exist in most places. Your option is to drive or drive or drive.

Get a new job that will require you to be in your chair in an office just like the last one.

In many cases... Nope. Get out of your bubble.

Re: Standing desk might be as bad as sitting all day

#226

Post by interludead »

joelthelion wrote: post #142
interludead wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolutely. I think shorter work weeks not only support mental and physical health but actually boost productivity!

And they would very likely be better for the environment.

Plus, people might have more time to make eco-friendly lifestyle choices

Re: Standing desk might be as bad as sitting all day

#227

Post by otabdeveloper4 »

fanf2 wrote: post #139
otabdeveloper4 wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Humans are nothing like chimpanzees physiologically. Homo sapiens has a semi-aquatic mammal build.

The aquatic ape hypothesis is pseudoscience. Humans are adapted for long distance running and throwing.

> Humans are adapted for long distance running and throwing.

That's a just-so story which is much more pseudoscience than the aquatic ape theory. Humans are shitty runners, we have a bipedal gait that isn't adapted to running.

Paleolithic evidence shows ancient humans were habitual swimmers and divers. (Throwing and swimming use the same muscles in homo sapiens.)

Homo sapiens isn't of course an "aquatic ape" (no such thing by definition), but that we always lived next to water and fished and dived for seafood is undeniable.

Re: Standing desk might be as bad as sitting all day

#228

Post by otabdeveloper4 »

triceratops wrote: post #205
otabdeveloper4 wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Humans are nothing like chimpanzees physiologically. Homo sapiens has a semi-aquatic mammal build.

> Humans are nothing like chimpanzees physiologically. Homo sapiens has a semi-aquatic mammal build. Looks at chimp. Looks at whale. Looks at dolphin. Looks at human. Scratches head like a confused ape.

The dolphin's skeleton is closer to the homo sapiens skeleton than a chimp's.

We like chimps for their facial expressions, but their skeletons are nothing at all like a human skeleton.

Re: Standing desk might be as bad as sitting all day

#229

Post by Fire-Dragon-DoL »

taberiand wrote: post #93
tzs wrote: post #63

Here's an article [1] from a few years ago from Cornell ergonomics researchers that is still relevant the discusses the pluses and minuses of both sitting and standing desks. Here is their recommendation: > Sit to do computer work. Sit using a height-adjustable, downward titling keyboard tray for the best work posture, then every 20 minutes stand for 8 minutes AND MOVE for 2 minutes. The absolute time isn’t critical…

That essentially reads to me as "you can't both be focused on computer work and be active enough to be healthy" Break my concentration EVERY 20-30 minutes to move around for at least 2 minutes? That's at least halving my productivity. It's a total non-starter. It's the sort of advice that everyone pays lip service to, but almost no one is actually able to follow.

Agree like you said. It's pretty evident, all the management at the company I work at said that meetings interleaved with 1 hour blocks is a productivity killer, 2 hour blocks are required for some deep work. Interrupting every 20-30 minutes is terrible

Re: Standing desk might be as bad as sitting all day

#230

Post by Fire-Dragon-DoL »

MrSkelter wrote: post #217
taberiand wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That essentially reads to me as "you can't both be focused on computer work and be active enough to be healthy" Break my concentration EVERY 20-30 minutes to move around for at least 2 minutes? That's at least halving my productivity. It's a total non-starter. It's the sort of advice that everyone pays lip service to, but almost no one is actually able to follow.

Only being able to concentrate while sedentary is a habit not a rule of nature. Like many people throughout time I do much of my best thinking while walking or exercising. To the point that to crack a hard problem is often easiest if I get up and go for a stroll. This is even easier given that there is seldom only one problem to crack. The combination of switching tasks and moving about, getting the blood pumping, se…

It's not the focus, it's that usually I need to read/explore some documentation while I am concentrated, that forces to be sitting (or not moving)
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