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Cornell Ergonomics Web finds standing desks present their own issues

ergo.human.cornell.edu

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Re: Cornell Ergonomics Web finds standing desks present their own issues

#31

Post by gurkendoktor »

dmpatierno wrote: post #4

The advice here is to sit for 20-30 minutes at a time and then take a 2-minute walking break. This sort of schedule happens to correspond nicely with the Pomodoro Technique, which suggests 25 minutes of work followed by 5-minute breaks. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique

There is even a nice OS X app for that.

Moving around is really, really the best thing to do in a Pomodoro break. Every time I check Facebook or mail instead I regret it.

The downside is, I never figured out how to apply Pomodoro to research work or other stuff that has no discernible tasks - just feels weird then :(

Re: Cornell Ergonomics Web finds standing desks present their own issues

#32

Post by St-Clock »

fullmoon wrote: post #22
astrofinch wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree, our culture's unhealthiness is such that no incremental improvement in our lifestyle can make us incrementally healthier.

How can an incremental improvement in our lifestyle NOT make us incrementally healthier?

Maybe linear would be more appropriate than incremental as in: not all improvements in our lifestyle will have the same impact on our health. If you stand up and move every 20-30 minutes but you eat sugary and fatty food all the time, the improvement of your small breaks will be marginal in the long run compared to all the other problems you'll get. On the other hand, if you sit down all day but eat healthier food (good fat, more proteins, less calories, fibers), the benefits of this lifestyle will be greater.

Stress management and reduction also comes to mind (of course taking a small break and moving around can help that).

Re: Cornell Ergonomics Web finds standing desks present their own issues

#33

Post by JonnieCache »

ukdm wrote: post #2

tl;dr 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 2 minutes AND MOVE. The absolute time isn’t critical but about every 20-30 minutes take a posture break and move for a couple of minutes.

If this article is too long to read then you have bigger problems than your posture.

Re: Cornell Ergonomics Web finds standing desks present their own issues

#34

Post by astrofinch »

fullmoon wrote: post #22
astrofinch wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree, our culture's unhealthiness is such that no incremental improvement in our lifestyle can make us incrementally healthier.

How can an incremental improvement in our lifestyle NOT make us incrementally healthier?

I find that if I restate someone's argument absurdly and preface my statement with "I agree", people are less likely to see me as an antagonist and more likely laugh at themselves. (This is actually one of my favorite tactics for productive disagreement.)

Re: Cornell Ergonomics Web finds standing desks present their own issues

#35

Post by reinhardt »

dmpatierno wrote: post #4

The advice here is to sit for 20-30 minutes at a time and then take a 2-minute walking break. This sort of schedule happens to correspond nicely with the Pomodoro Technique, which suggests 25 minutes of work followed by 5-minute breaks. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique

I dunno, slacking off for (at least) 16.67% of time sounds a bit too much to me.

Re: Cornell Ergonomics Web finds standing desks present their own issues

#36

Post by gjm11 »

reinhardt wrote: post #35
dmpatierno wrote: post #4

The advice here is to sit for 20-30 minutes at a time and then take a 2-minute walking break. This sort of schedule happens to correspond nicely with the Pomodoro Technique, which suggests 25 minutes of work followed by 5-minute breaks. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique

I dunno, slacking off for (at least) 16.67% of time sounds a bit too much to me.

The point is that (1) most people are in fact going to slack off for at least that much time, and (2) doing so in a controlled way is actually beneficial to your performance when not slacking off.

The only evidence I know for these is anecdotal, but I'll take a substantial body of anecdotal evidence over "sounds a bit too much to me" any day.

Re: Cornell Ergonomics Web finds standing desks present their own issues

#37

Post by johnyzee »

> In our field studies of sit-stand workstations we have found little evidence of widespread benefits and users only stand for very short-periods (15 minutes or less total per day). Other studies have found that the use of sit-stand stations rapidly declines so that after 1 month a majority of people are sitting all the time.

So sit-stand desks are a bad solution because people don't actually use them? What's wrong with this logic?

Of course when they are a novelty, people will try them out and then fall back into old habits.

Here in Denmark practically every office worker in every workplace has a sit-stand desk, and so I have many years of experience observing this. About ten percent (my rough estimate) actually use them, but those that do use them a lot, and stand between 25-50% of the time.

I would not work anywhere without one, simple as that. I even got one for my home office (they are available from many dealers here).

Re: Cornell Ergonomics Web finds standing desks present their own issues

#38

Post by k7d »

saturdaysaint wrote: post #8

I highly recommend kneeling chairs. You sit with your legs underneath you instead of in front of you, which puts your back at a much more natural angle (much like standing, actually) than a standard office chair. They're cheap (mine was $75) and very compact, so you can augment them with a "normaller" chair. Long hours in a kneeling chair can strain certain muscles (the small of my back gets a little tight), so I do…

+1 for kneeling chairs. I've Varier Gravity Balans http://www.varierfurniture.com/Collections/Human-instruments... and it totally rocks once you get used to it.

Re: Cornell Ergonomics Web finds standing desks present their own issues

#39

Post by buff-a »

aptwebapps wrote: post #20
buff-a wrote: post #17

Its a shame they didn't discuss walking beyond "it makes it difficult to type". Question: if I can figure out how to type while walking, will that give me the benefits of standing while avoiding the negatives?

I used to want a chording, one-handed keyboard with a strap. I thought that that combined with a PDA (this was a few years ago) would be great for walking and working. But I probably would have walked in front of a bus so it is just as well I never had one.

=) I'm talking about a treadmill. Like this: http://llewellynfalco.blogspot.com/2010/11/my-treadmill-desk...

Re: Cornell Ergonomics Web finds standing desks present their own issues

#40

Post by jonnathanson »

davedx wrote: post #6

Atkins diets and standing desks aren't going to fix more fundamental issues with a pervasively unhealthy culture.

True. Instead of obsessing over whether we should sit in place for 10 hours straight, or stand in place for 10 hours straight, we should think about moving around a bit. Walk around the office floor every now and then. Trade a few emails for in-person stop-bys. Keep a refillable coffee cup or glass of water, and walk to the farthest kitchen or breakroom for refills each time. Pace the halls like a crazy person when brainstorming. Etc.

To a large degree, sedentary is sedentary, no matter how you dress it up. Our bodies did not evolve to sit (or stand) in a fixed location for most of the waking day. And our brain's health is highly correlated with cardiovascular health.

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