

Calculate the Caloric Difference Standing Instead of Sitting Makes - kmfrk
http://www.juststand.org/tabid/637/language/en-US/default.aspx

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cydonian_monk
I'd love to stand while I work, but whenever I stand up in my office they
assume I'm trying to escape.

In all honesty, I'm not sure I could code as well standing up. When I'm in
"the zone" I'm always sitting on the edge of my seat, typically right at the
point where either I'll fall out or the chair will go flying backwards if I
move too much. It's not a concious thing. I've always worked like that, and I
can stay like that for hours. Standing might just be different enough to break
the process.

But the rest of the time? Sure, I'd love to work standing up. Sitting in a
chair (inside) for eight, nine, ten hours a day drives me nuts.

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kmfrk
Standing up in from of the computer is a major paradigm change, and it's going
to take people to do some active advocating.

I know Marco(.org) often works standing up, and I think it'd be a great
opportunity for bloggers to do some posts on their experiences.

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jamesbritt
_Standing up in from of the computer is a major paradigm change ..._

I've found that standing up and writing something on whiteboard engages my
brain in different ways than typing it out at my laptop while sitting, or even
drawing it out on a Wacom tablet while sitting.

It's the problem I have with most computer music tools; the typical nerdy
mouse/keyboard UI encourages the wrong kind of mental mode. Touch screens are
somewhat better but still don't embrace a rich, physical, spatial environment.

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cydonian_monk
The interface isn't completely here yet to support "standing computing." We
need "air mice" rather like Minority Report (which Kinect gives, almost), and
a new method of character input. I've considered adapting an 8-key braille
keyboard to a glove (or something) using bluetooth for mobility's sake (and
will probably build as much sometime this summer), but that isn't perfect
either.

I definitely agree that your brain works different while standing (or pacing).
Most of the really difficult or complex stuff I solve while up on my feet, and
then go back to edge-of-my-seat coding mode to get it out of my head.

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thinkbohemian
What about standing versus sitting on a ball? Also how do they figure out how
many calories you burn while doing something? I've always wondered that.

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hugh3
As I understand it (and hopefully an expert will correct me if I'm wrong) they
measure the composition of the air you breathe in and the air you breathe out.
From that they figure out how much O2 you're converting into CO2 and hence how
much energy you've consumed.

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mbubb
I have been thinking (but it hasn't gone past the thought stage) of setting a
90 min timer and making sure to do simple calisthenics at that interval.

By calisthenics, I mean the kind of thing you see older Chinese men and women
doing in the morning around Columbus park in Chinatown NYC (probably not the
only place on god's-green-earth that this happens...)

I have also thought there might be a hidden benefit in smoker's breaks in that
one gets up, moves around and changes context for a bit. (And yes I know -
forcibly introduce all kinds of poisons into the system.)

I don't know if it is just sitting that is at issue or if it is to have your
muscles in one set position for a long time. Perhaps sentries, mimes and
others who must stand still for long periods suffer from the same issue.

As I understand it - and this was gleaned from a brief scan of an NYTimes
article. People who remain in a stationary sitting position for more than x
hours a day are more prone to certain cardio-vascular issues associated with a
sedentary lifestyle EVEN IF they regularly exercise.

I would imagine simply standing would be better for you but I feel like the
real point is to do something that circulates blood and lymph through your
system multiple times a day.

One of the 'use cases' that intrigues me are monks who meditate for long
periods. I wonder if they suffer a greater incidence of blood clots and heart
disease, etc.

I would be surprised if they do...

But, I am in no way an expert nor even an amateur physiologist and with diet
and exercise I am prone to believing half digested notions (think xkcd 882 and
903).

To misappropriate Pascal's wager. I can't see how it would hurt to do
something 'non-sitting' every 90 mins or so.

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mwsherman
A Stack O everyone gets a standing desk. I can't imagine not having one. Well,
I can, that's how I did it for most of my life.

It took me about a week to adapt -- sore calves and feet, which passed. A
"standing mat" or "anti-fatigue" mat (Google 'em) helps a lot. And take off
your shoes.

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pavelb
So _why_ is it good to burn more calories? This is one of those 'facts' that
are never questioned. Why not just run your body at lower calories per day? I
do not have a weight problem and I feel fine. I guess I just do not eat more
then I need. Does not higher caloric throughput just wear out your body?

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apothacarebear
This assumes that the any benefits of standing arise from energy-burning.
However, they could arise from control issues: having to make continual small
adjustments to muscle tensions in the legs effects the way that _attention_ is
distributed in the nervous system.

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hugh3
If we're going to be strict about things though, we should take into account
the fact that standing rather than sitting all day may have bad effects as
well.

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acgourley
There has been some research indicating more subtle metabolic advantages of
standing vs sitting, is that captured in this calculator?

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Mizza
On the whole, simply measuring calories is a pretty poor metric for health.
I'd say the health benefits are probably much greater and broader than the 300
calories this thing is telling me I'd save.

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shantanubala
I'd go one step further and say that the calories are actually one of the most
superficial aspects of standing instead of sitting (which really shows how
much American perception of health and wellness have gone wrong). I'd say the
most important aspects are the impact on organs, muscles, bones, tendons, and
joints. Not to mention improved circulation, etc.

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teamonkey
In my case, the equivalent of a dry bagel. I guess that's a win.

