A standing desk is a desk that (obviously) you stand at instead of sit at. You can probably sit at one using like an artist chair, or some other tall chair. The big difference is the keyboard/monitor/desktop is raised up (to about elbow level) and the monitor is raised to about eye level.
There are supposed to be a few benefits of standing, including blood flow, since you aren’t folded at the seat, and possible side benefits such as maybe better focus, small calorie burn, etc.
I just set a metal shelf on a couple of boxes on my desk’s top at work and have the monitor sitting on top of an old CPU (which isn’t being used). This is my second week of trying out this sort of set-up and I was wondering if anybody else was working or using a standing desk?
HowToGeek has had a number of DIY standing desk articles, which may have been in part what inspired me.
I was going to set one up at home, but I don’t use a desk for any significant time to really try it out.
It has taken me about a week to “get my legs” but my hour of sitting in the car to go home isn’t so uncomfortable since I’m not sitting for 9 hours prior (8 @ work + 1 for the morning commute). My wife suggested having a box to put my foot on while I am standing and that has made a HUGE difference to my lower back!
There are supposed to be a few benefits of standing, including blood flow
Actually I think blood flow is a prerequisite condition for standing upright. Exercise helps to get the blood flowing. How about a 20 minute (or longer) walk each day (no, not to a bar)?
After spending 1 hour driving in to work, sitting for 8 hours (even with breaks) and then sitting in the car for another hour to get home walking 20 minutes isn’t enough to cut it. There are nights when I just cannot sit down because it is too uncomfortable!
And then there are the nights I drive 45 minutes to a meeting and 45 minutes home.
I’m getting too old for this.
Last week, I had to drive to a meeting after working the day mostly standing at the desk (I sat for a couple of hours because I’m still working up my endurance) and that was the most comfortable drive home afterwards compared to other nights.
So I am noticing a difference already, and now that I found a shelf nobody was using I have been able to make a more comfortable “desktop” for my keyboard/lappy & docking station, speakers and coffee! I’m at about 7 hours and doing alright. My lower back isn’t hurting me and I feel my legs, but they don’t hurt.
I’ll have to see about including a pic of my current set-up.
I was a barkeeper for a couple of years. Ever experienced what 8 hours of standing up do to you, and please take in consideration that I was moving around behind the bar, serving customers. Maybe better ask someone who used to stand as a guard at Buckingham Palace or the Vatican. Your feet feel twice as big after a couple of hours of standing, your legs go numb, and after a couple of days your spine feels like it ends somewhere between your knees (and yes, I know it does anyway, meant horizontally whilst standing up).
I should probably clarify… It’s been 7 hours but I have managed to sit down. I have a box to raise one foot up and keep switching back-and-forth and I have my headphones on so if people see me jumping around here they assume I’m listening to something exciting!
So it isn’t like I’m standing still, or not sitting at all.
I’ve survived retail during the Christmas Holidays and there aren’t many opportunities to sit down or sit for long. Only down side is, that was when I was younger.
I can feel that I should look at getting some new shoes soon. Friday is business-“casual” so I’ll be able to wear sneakers with better foot support.
The link (How-To Geek Forums) has other examples that are more realistic. This one was just pretty clear but my desk definitely doesn’t look like that. If I remember to bring my camera, I’ll have to spend some time hiding the wads of paper spewn around here
I found a metal shelf which I have on top of a couple of paper boxes. My laptop is on that shelf to the left, dual-monitored to the screen raised in the center (there is an unused CPU and riser behind the shelf it sits on).
When standing there, over the monitor I look at an office door, but if it is open I see Sunlight!
The printer toner box on the floor is for my foot to rest on, which helps my lower back.
> After spending 1 hour driving in to work, sitting for 8 hours (even with
> breaks) and then sitting in the car for another hour to get home walking
> 20 minutes isn’t enough to cut it. There are nights when I just cannot
> sit down because it is too uncomfortable!
I hear ya. I try to find opportunities to get out of the chair.
I have a stand up desk with bar stools at home. I would have to work
up to it to spend a full 8 hours alternating between the stool and standing
though.
I thoroughly enjoy vacations where I am required to walk a lot. Trips
to Europe are a real treat.
It’s been a week since Tuesday and on some days I don’t have any difficulties staying standing, while other days I feel it in my feet and/or legs. The articles I’ve been getting inspired on usually peg it at about a week before you build up an endurance.
I stack books under my laptop and use a bar stool for a few hours a few days a week. I like the variety of it. But, when I need to do serious work, I’m more productive sitting down with my dual monitors. One thing I learned fast - be sure to get a padded bar stool! The first one was a wooden stool with no padding - I literally was cutting off blood flow at my thighs. I had some really nasty effects from that fast.
I do need to try the box at the feet option - I think that will help.
LOL…picked it up years ago, apparently quite valuable now, but I’ll never
sell it. : )
I have a 22" flat panel right now where the old TV set would have been.
Still have the 2600, but it is underneath. I have my wireless keyboard
where the 2600 would have sat and my mous is up higher on the flat portion
under the monitor. I am tall so the mouse position doesn’t pose a problem.
On Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:15:17 +0000, GofBorg wrote:
> Well, heh heh, my ‘stand up desk’ at home is one of these:
>
> http://www.atarimuseum.com/videogames/consoles/2600/2600displays.html
>
> LOL…picked it up years ago, apparently quite valuable now, but I’ll
> never sell it. : )
>
> I have a 22" flat panel right now where the old TV set would have been.
> Still have the 2600, but it is underneath. I have my wireless keyboard
> where the 2600 would have sat and my mous is up higher on the flat
> portion under the monitor. I am tall so the mouse position doesn’t pose
> a problem.
On Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:11:14 +0000, GofBorg wrote:
> Nice…I still have my 800, floppy and cassette drives and the Atari LQ
> printer.
>
> Haven’t had the 800 out in years, but it was working last time I cranked
> it up. I wore out the left and right arrow keys playing Exodus: Ultima
> 3.
>
> Good times.
I had installed an 8086 chip in it and was developing accounting software
for college text books. It took forever to compile from a floppy so I
got a 10GB hard drive. Running 2 environments filled it up pretty
quickly.
