Office Life Is Destroying Your Butt • Hacker News Board

Re: Office Life Is Destroying Your Butt

#51

Post by ghaff » Sat, Aug 25, 2018, 7:30 PM UTC

makecheck wrote: post #39

I prefer to take frequent walks, which also helps to clear my head and forces me to do other exercises like climbing stairs. A “standing desk” just seems like a really complex solution that doesn’t even address any part of the problem except the sitting. Also, standing desks are really weird in a cubicle situation where suddenly your neighbor is towering over the wall for an hour, peering into your space.

I work mostly at home and I mostly just get up and down a lot. A lot of what I do is writing and I find that writing a few paragraphs and then getting up and thinking about where I might want to take things next is a pretty effective workflow for me.

Other times, I do focus for a longer period of time.

I have a multi-monitor setup in my office but these days, I mostly work on a laptop that I'll take to different rooms around the house.

Re: Office Life Is Destroying Your Butt

#52

Post by ghthor » Sat, Aug 25, 2018, 7:30 PM UTC

makecheck wrote: post #39

I prefer to take frequent walks, which also helps to clear my head and forces me to do other exercises like climbing stairs. A “standing desk” just seems like a really complex solution that doesn’t even address any part of the problem except the sitting. Also, standing desks are really weird in a cubicle situation where suddenly your neighbor is towering over the wall for an hour, peering into your space.

Standing desks in open offices make me feel uncomfortable. I get pretty bad anxiety when I feel like I'm bothering someone else so I tend to try and only stand when my neighbors are standing.

At home office desk is 100% standing, DIY table mounted on top of 2 wooden chairs. If I'm getting tired of standing and leaning around, time for a walk. My productivity is so much higher at home compared to my companies open office. Wish I could convince them to let us just make team "rooms" in the open office, ala Valve style.

They bought us all standing desks with wheels, but were not allowed to roll them around. VP of engineering jokes that after I brought it up all the desks would be wheel-less come Monday. Little does he know that if those wheels aren't gone next week my desk is moving were ever I find a space I feel more comfortable, anarchy in the engineering wing, eyes open, no fear, be safe everyone.

Re: Office Life Is Destroying Your Butt

#53

Post by shawn » Sat, Aug 25, 2018, 7:31 PM UTC

Toilet paper might also be causing hemorrhoids.

Consider that our bodies were not evolved to use toilet paper, and that hemorrhoids are virtually unheard of in third-world countries that lack TP.

(I haven't confirmed that latter claim. It's just something I read once, somewhere.)

Anyone who's been sick and had to go to the loo multiple times in a row will notice how painful it becomes. I'm not sure it would be painful if washing was used rather than rubbing.

My comment here is full of assumptions and wildly unsupported by evidence. But I thought it might be best to post it so that it can swiftly be disproven or shown to have a grain of truth.

The topic is gross, but it's a serious issue that you don't think much about until suddenly you have to.

Re: Office Life Is Destroying Your Butt

#54

Post by allthenews » Sat, Aug 25, 2018, 7:33 PM UTC

shawn wrote: post #53

Toilet paper might also be causing hemorrhoids. Consider that our bodies were not evolved to use toilet paper, and that hemorrhoids are virtually unheard of in third-world countries that lack TP. (I haven't confirmed that latter claim. It's just something I read once, somewhere.) Anyone who's been sick and had to go to the loo multiple times in a row will notice how painful it becomes. I'm not sure it would be painfu…

I've read that the culprit is not toilet paper, but the face that we sit when we shit, while we ostensibly evolved to squat. So the bowels don't straighten out as they should, and the excessive pushing leads to pressure which gradually causes blood vessels to bulge over time.

Also, baby wipes work for adults too.

Re: Office Life Is Destroying Your Butt

#55

Post by specialist » Sat, Aug 25, 2018, 7:33 PM UTC

DrBazza wrote: post #43

Standing desks aren't yet (2016) proven to do anything: https://www.cochrane.org/news/health-effects-sit-stand-desks...

Standing burns more calories. Between 20 and 50/hr depending. A coworker added a treadmill under his desk. He claimed he burned 100/hr.

FWIW, I fidget, a lot, and have found that a barstool works best for me. Stand, lean, sit, prop (a foot), dance, whatever. Very flexible.

Re: Office Life Is Destroying Your Butt

#56

Post by Moru » Sat, Aug 25, 2018, 7:34 PM UTC

nilkn wrote: post #49

Instead of trying to create a fancy standing/sitting desk workflow, I've personally tried to just take more breaks throughout the day. Unless the weather's terrible, even a brief five minute walk does wonders. It's also a great way to get some alone time and mull over what you're working on without distraction. Just as when I was a student studying mathematics and doing a bit of research, I've found that with program…

I think most jobs benefits from this, not just office work. A short time away from work, quick walk does wonders for your mental health. Some people smoke because that gives them the excuse to get outside for a few minutes now and then :-)

Re: Office Life Is Destroying Your Butt

#57

Post by Moru » Sat, Aug 25, 2018, 7:35 PM UTC

imgabe wrote: post #23

Minor quibble, but halogen-lit offices? Who is sitting under halogen lamps all day? Most office lights are LED these days or maybe fluorescent if they're older.

Leds can flicker even worse than flourescent. Test it with your mobile camera, shove it up to the lights real close and see if it starts showing banding all over the screen. The calmest light you get is halogen or a normal lightbulb of the burning rust type.

Re: Office Life Is Destroying Your Butt

#58

Post by emodendroket » Sat, Aug 25, 2018, 7:37 PM UTC

_lbaq wrote: post #16

mamon wrote: post #6

>> Humans evolved to stand upright and outrun their predators Forgive my ignorance, but are there any predators that we actually can outrun? Pretty much every four-legged mammal is faster, except maybe elephants.

Avarage human cant outrun anything it seems: http://www.speedofanimals.com/

I mean when we talk about the capabilities of monkeys we don't discount the stuff they do with tools.

Re: Office Life Is Destroying Your Butt

#59

Post by fastbeef » Sat, Aug 25, 2018, 7:37 PM UTC

allthenews wrote: post #54

shawn wrote: post #53

Toilet paper might also be causing hemorrhoids. Consider that our bodies were not evolved to use toilet paper, and that hemorrhoids are virtually unheard of in third-world countries that lack TP. (I haven't confirmed that latter claim. It's just something I read once, somewhere.) Anyone who's been sick and had to go to the loo multiple times in a row will notice how painful it becomes. I'm not sure it would be painfu…

I've read that the culprit is not toilet paper, but the face that we sit when we shit, while we ostensibly evolved to squat. So the bowels don't straighten out as they should, and the excessive pushing leads to pressure which gradually causes blood vessels to bulge over time. Also, baby wipes work for adults too.

Don’t flush baby wipes, or anything except fences or toilet paper. They clog drains and interfere with the sewage treatment process.

Re: Office Life Is Destroying Your Butt

#60

Post by psynapse » Sat, Aug 25, 2018, 7:38 PM UTC

pen2l wrote: post #46

psynapse wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Throw a few heavy deadlifts in there. You'll develop some hard glutes.

I do hex deadlifts, I like how they develop my upper back and neck. I have a computer nerd neck... I’ve been thinking how to solve that. I think I should do front squats rather than the standard.

What do you mean by computer nerd neck? I do shrugs, which hits the traps, but I find my neck is a bit thicker too.

Front squats isolate the quads more - I prefer to do back squats, then isolate smaller groups with quad extensions and hamstring curls; the latter being good for the glutes too.