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I built a lay-down desk

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Re: I built a lay-down desk

#291

Post by longtom »

dkersten wrote: post #251
andreareina wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 star…

A physiotherapist once said to me that sitting with bad posture isn't even bad for you... as long as you don't stay in the same position too long. So the problem isn't sitting, standing or lying down, its doing those for too long. I suppose probably due to not moving, as you said.

A hunched sitting posture and little physical activity does likely impair the metabolism though. The human metabolism has adapted for things to be upright and moving all the time, not for sitting absolutely still with compression forces acting upon the abdominal intestines by being hunched over for hours at a time.

https://medium.com/@truppr/long-sitting-how-it-affects-your-...

Re: I built a lay-down desk

#292

Post by kortex »

dkersten wrote: post #251
andreareina wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 star…

A physiotherapist once said to me that sitting with bad posture isn't even bad for you... as long as you don't stay in the same position too long. So the problem isn't sitting, standing or lying down, its doing those for too long. I suppose probably due to not moving, as you said.

Oh good, my incessant squirming, leg-bouncing and position-shifting has some benefits!

Re: I built a lay-down desk

#293

Post by jholman »

jedberg wrote: post #151
Abishek_Muthian wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I had my spine surgery and was bed-ridden I scoured the web for such a setup which will help me use a laptop in bed without moving my neck and wasn't able to find anything practical. I've now come to the conclusion that low latency video glasses/headset connected as external display to the laptop/smartphone is a better solution for that problem as it doesn't require any of these contraptions; But I'm still in se…

There is a company that is solving that! https://immersedvr.com Disclaimer: I'm an investor in Immersed, but I invested because I loved the product!

I don't want to be overly negative/critical, but an observation: Facebook's decision to require Facebook logins for all Oculus products seems like a very good reason to branch out support other VR devices ASAP. Mandatory Facebooks is a concern for privacy-focused private users, but double a concern for work-related tooling.

Re: I built a lay-down desk

#294

Post by Humphrey »

I had to re-think "desks" after breaking my collarbone two months ago, and spent a lot of time in my make-shift couch lay-down desk. While I had full control over my lower arm and hand, moving my upper arm and shoulder was painful. The only position I could stay in for extended periods of time was laying down, and I needed to find a way to use both hands without shoulder pain.

On day 2, I discovered that I could spend hours lying flat on the couch with my legs propped up with cushions and a laptop on my 45deg legs. In that position, I could use the computer two handed for extended times as if I didn't have a broken collarbone.

Coming into the office to work (as COVID has been eradicated in my part of Australia) was harder since more than 20mins in an upright position (chair or standing) caused my shoulder to ache.

It took me a couple of weeks to work this out, but I ended up using a large upright shaped bean-bag as my office chair. I could mold the beanbag to give my arm support and sit the more reclined position that re-leaved aches. Having an Ikea standing desk helped, as I get into the bean bag and then lower the desk to match.

It's healed enough now to use regular chair and standing desk, but I learnt a lot about me and desk positions.

My main conclusion (after 15years of having a coding job) is that variation is key. There is no magic seating or standing position. Even if there was, it would be become uncomfortable eventually.

While probably the worst seating position for my back and posture, I have kept the beanbag chair at work, because using it occasionally feels good.

And, when at home I have continued to use the lying flat on the couch position, because again, it's different to how I usually use computers.

Which brings me to my main thought on this project (which I love the idea of): It's too permanent. I'm sure it'll feel amazing and comfy for a few days (or even weeks), but at some point for my body, it'd become just as annoying and uncomfortable as a regular desk.

Re: I built a lay-down desk

#295

Post by Uptrenda »

damn this setup seems --way-- too complicated. if you want to lay down and work why not just use a couch or beach chair and a laptop? alternatively, a bed and some pillows works fine, too. i work from home and i mostly only use a desk if im falling asleep, in which case -- im using a standing desk. the rest of the time im in bed resting on some pillows and going over tech stuff. prob not the healthiest life-style but i find desks super uncomfortable and hard to focus. ops setup seems insane to me

Re: I built a lay-down desk

#297

Post by DoofusOfDeath »

ahelwer wrote: post #62
DoofusOfDeath wrote: post #45

(I hope this isn't too off-topic, but since we're talking about computer desks that accommodate unusual sitting positions...) Has anyone found a good solution for positioning a mouse and keyboard in front of yourself while sitting on a recumbent exercise bike? My primary use case is exercising while gaming. I can somewhat get by when playing mostly-mouse turned-based strategies; I put a table next to my bike and use…

You could use a keyboard tray with an articulating arm, assuming you find some way to mount it to your bike. Humanscale makes nice ones, which can often be found at steep discount on ebay.

Thanks for the idea! I went to their website but didn't see any good matches. I've emailed them asking for suggestions and now I'm waiting to hear back.

Re: I built a lay-down desk

#298

Post by zwayhowder »

xuhu wrote: post #51
msluyter wrote: post #32

In college I had some back problems, so I improvised (an incredibly unwise) lay-down desk by putting my monitor face down on two chairs and just lying with my face underneath it. This was a heavy CRT, not a modern LCD monitor. (Did I mention this being incredibly unwise...?)

I suspended a kindle over my bed on two 2-meter rails used for reinforcing wall edges. Best reading I did while recovering from leg injuries, but risky as you mentioned.

I have a cantilevered tablet holder over my bed, it can hold a Kindle or iPad without effort and has both clamps and an elastic cord to retain them.

Then for ultimate convenience (laziness) I connected a bluetooth presentation clicker to my iPad to turn the pages for me so I didn't have to keep reaching up or take my arms out from under the blanket on cold nights. In two years it's never dropped.

Re: I built a lay-down desk

#300

Post by burnte »

andreareina wrote: post #25
zoba wrote: 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 star…

> 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.

I'm a big guy, 6'4", and fidgety. Being tall, I learned early on good posture is crucial for a pain free back, as is strong back muscles. Between that and being always moving, I don't deal with a fraction of the body issues a lot of office workers seem to. The worst is long flights, because getting up and walking around at least once an hour is something I don't even have to think about, so planes aren't great for that. On planes I understand why people want comfort at their desk.

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