
Too much standing is bad, study finds - cpncrunch
http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/standing-sitting-work-move-1.4252006
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md224
This is funny, but it's also a good example of a particular kind of scientific
inquiry: figuring out ways to maximize your life span. Not only is this
research often inaccurate (as Science is always a work-in-progress), it tends
to promote this idea that maximizing your lifespan should be your highest
priority. Some people just want to live faster than others. Everyone should be
welcome to their own priorities as long as the negative externalities are
tolerable.

Of course, deciding what counts as "tolerable" is a subjective, social
process, and rational people can (and do) disagree.

I guess I'm just trying to say life is short, so don't worry too much about
how to position yourself at your desk.

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cpncrunch
Well for me being stuck at a desk all day (whether standing, sitting, or on my
head), is intolerable full stop. I feel that my current lifestyle probably
maximises both lifespan, physical and mental health, and enjoyment. (I work
for myself from home on my own projects, and take regular breaks and
exercise).

I realise that I'm quite fortunate to be in this situation...my wife hates her
job and is desperately trying to figure out if she can make it tolerable, or
if there's something else she can do instead.

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jraines
sitting will kill you, standing will kill you . . . luckily I float in a vat
of nutrient gel like a Guild Navigator

~~~
SiVal
I just read a report in Guild Navigator News that found nutrient gel to be
carcinogenic.

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FooHentai
Anecdotally, all standing at work did was swapped some health risk factors for
other ones. I was doing my back a favor, but I set myself on course for
varicose veins and DVT.

Also, standing messed with focus. It helped when switching focus away from the
screen (meetings, discussions etc). But keeping focus on the screen became
harder.

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maxxxxx
I really envy people with jobs where they can move around a lot. Staring at a
screen the whole day in one place can't be good for you no matter standing or
sitting.

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farnsworth
I want an office with several computers in different corners - or possibly
several small rooms, each with a computer. I'll use each computer for one
particular type of task, and move around as I switch to different tasks.
Besides the physical activity, I'd be able to context switch better, and keep
myself on topic better - e.g., to take a HN break, I have to get up and walk
over to the recreation computer.

I think VR will give me this - I'll wear one portable headset, and walk around
to multiple virtual workspaces.

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antisthenes
Turns out doing too much of anything is bad for you.

Also turns out standing in 1 place is still sedentary.

Who would have thought.

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mr_tristan
I prefer to stand mostly because it helps some mobility issues I've noticed
while doing olympic weightlifting, notably, sitting for long periods really
tightens my hip flexors and external shoulder rotation. It's taken me a couple
of years, but gradually my overhead squat has become stable and low. But that
process wasn't due to me just standing: over these years I've also done lots
of exercises to explicitly improve the position. Standing all day vs sitting
all day is just something I notice when I get to the gym. After a long day of
meetings, I find I need a solid 2-3 more minutes of hip flexor and shoulder
work to get things moving.

However, I don't think for a second that standing all day has anywhere near as
significant an impact as doing olympic weightlifting 4-ish hours a week.
Building up the body's ability to handle high intensity physical activity
doesn't take long, but over the long term, you can make major improvements.
For me, I've easily more than doubled maximal intensities I can perform: I
recall a time starting out that a 225 lb deadlift was difficult. I regularly
pull 400-450 pounds now, and can do it for multiple reps in a single session
without significant soreness the day after. And notably, I started at the age
of 36, and my bodyweight hasn't changed that much, though I'm less pudgy and a
little more muscular. I'm hardly what someone would spot as a "beast" or
associate with being a bodybuilder. (Lifting for high intensity involves a lot
of central nervous system training, often overlooked until you're doing it.)

In the end, I just question these recommendations to "stand vs sit", because
neither of these things are going to really challenge your body. My sense is
that unless you significantly challenge the combination of strength,
flexibility, and aerobic capacity with some regularity, what you do in low-
intensity situations will only change you in a minor way. Subsequently, my
guess is that if you actually measured athletic performance (standing vertical
jump, V02 max, etc) of someone who sat all day at work vs stood up all day at
work, there probably wouldn't be much of a change. And as a corollary, I'd
expect if you found a way for people to actually improve their athletic
performance significantly, that would likely have a significant effect on
their quality of life as they age.

Unfortunately, most athletic studies are performed at colleges on a fixed
demo, e.g., college athletes. I'm just not aware of anyone looking at long
term effects of athletic performance for the average joe in the workforce. It
would be an expensive proposition, too, so I'm not sure it'll be forthcoming.

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WesleyLivesay
I guess it is time to get on the treadmill desk hype train.

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chairmanwow
Serious Question: can you actually type using this?

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lostmsu
Easily. At least with a big keyboard like Microsoft Natural. Hitting small
areas with mouse becomes much harder though.

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cpncrunch
It found that heart disease was higher for those standing, than for those
sitting. So much for the fad of standing desks.

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gozur88
It's probably not good for your circulatory system to be mostly motionless for
long periods of time, sitting or standing.

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cpncrunch
We already know sitting is bad. Now we know standing is bad too. We know
exercise is good, so it seems pretty obvious that the answer is to have
regular exercise.

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moretai
Simple. Stand on your hands.

