Is it a coincidence that my November 2014 issue of Scientific American just arrived with dense article (pp 19-20) titled *Killer Chairs*? Author James Levine's sub-title text says "Standing more, even at a desk job, could lower risk for obesity, illness and death, studies suggest". However, the article discusses a lot of variables in the research which I worry might be ignored and the simplified result will be turned into a bit of a fad that is of particular appeal to office workers like us. Even worse, it might result in overreactions where people start standing for 8 hours a day out of fear, causing a new set of health problems. I also don't want to wind-up fat, ill and dead, so if my chair is a killer, I want to know for sure! -- *Greg K*
P.S. The article seems to be behind pay-walls everywhere. On 27 October 2014 18:53, <[email protected]> wrote: > I did a bit of research into standing desks, motivated by the health > concerns that Jason mentions (which are pretty worrying actually). > > TL;DR - stability is everything. > > I ended up just getting a fixed height bar table for home (105cm height), > which is fine given I only use it during the evenings, but David is > absolutely right that you can't really do that all day, and most of us > don't have the space for two different height tables (let alone the pain of > moving your kit) > > If you've got the money, the electric variable height desks are definitely > the go. I went and had a play with a few at InnerSpace here in Perth, > surprisingly stable to lean on etc… They're about $2k mind, but because > they make the transition easy, the idea is you are more likely to stand > when you feel like it etc … Gas lift ones are about the same price, so I'm > not sure why you'd bother. > > If that's too much, there are a number of products similar to what Anthony > links to that convert an existing desk into a sit/stand desk by putting the > monitor and keyboard on a big arm or riser. They're definitely an option on > a budget, but they do have some clear disadvantages, not least lack of desk > space when elevated, and you can't really lean your elbows on them. You'd > also want to be really sure the one you went with was stable, nothing worse > than the surface wobbling around whilst you're typing on it. > > Stacking furniture is definitely an option, provided your base table is > stable, and you can get your legs / feet under it - your torso needs to > touch the table, so your feet need to be able to go under. ie no shelving > units with a fixed base! Jason's could probably benefit from a cross-bar at > the back for additional rigidity. > > Finally, one really cheep way of making a difference in your office > environment is just by encouraging stand-up meetings, and I don't just mean > the morning standup. A high table in a meeting room combined with stools > enables meeting participants to sit or stand and still be at the same eye > height, and if you're standing anyway, there's less of a barrier to grab > the pen and hit the whiteboard. I try and schedule all my meetings around > the availability of said room. If you're thinking of proposing changes to > your boss, it's a much sell to the boss than refitting an entire floor. > > I'll dig out some other links to the health stuff another day. It's > worrying stuff. > > Cheers, > > *From:* [email protected] > *Sent:* Monday, October 27, 2014 9:51 AM > *To:* ozDotNet <[email protected]> > > Thanks for that Anthony - looks pretty sweet! > > Jason Roberts > Journeyman Software Developer > > Twitter: @robertsjason > Blog: http://DontCodeTired.com > Pluralsight Courses: http://bit.ly/psjasonroberts > > =========================================================== > I welcome VSRE emails. Learn more at http://vsre.info/ > =========================================================== > > *From:* Anthony Borton <[email protected]> > *Sent:* Monday, 27 October 2014 8:48 AM > *To:* ozDotNet <[email protected]> > > I’ve been using a Varidesk Pro Plus from Varidesk ( > http://au.varidesk.com/) for a while and find myself alternating between > standing and sitting every hour or so. It’s $440 plus delivery but it can > be placed on most existing desks to convert it into a sit/stand desk pretty > easily. I have dual 26” monitors on it and raising/lowering the desk is > really easy. > > > > Cheers > > > > Anthony Borton > > Senior ALM Trainer/Consultant > > Visual Studio ALM MVP > > Enhance ALM Pty Ltd > > > > *From:* [email protected] [mailto: > [email protected]] *On Behalf Of *David Richards > *Sent:* Monday, 27 October 2014 7:49 AM > *To:* ozDotNet > *Subject:* Re: Hacked together standing desk > > > > I had been considering a standing desk on the condition that I also have a > sitting desk. I'm not convinced standing for 8-9 hours a day would be a > good idea. The option I was considering (but haven't tried to implement > yet) was to setup a standard sitting desk but then add an additional > monitor, keyboard and mouse as a standing desk next to the sitting desk. > You then have a KVM so you can switch between your standing and sitting > monitors. This means switching between sitting and standing is as simple > as pressing a button and standing up (or sitting down). It doesn't require > a fancy or modified desk and if you happen to have a spare > monitor/mouse/keyboard you only need a standard cheap standing desk and > kvm. This setup would even work with multiple monitors, especially since > you don't need to switch all the monitors. > > > David > > "If we can hit that bullseye, the rest of the dominoes > will fall like a house of cards... checkmate!" > -Zapp Brannigan, Futurama > > > > On 26 October 2014 22:44, <[email protected]> wrote: > > Yeah I did look at some of those, there was a really cool adjustable > one, but Perth Ikea never had the bits in stock, > > > > also this AU kickstarter: > https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2052694050/the-bystander-wooden-standing-desk > > > > Jason Roberts > Journeyman Software Developer > > Twitter: @robertsjason > Blog: http://DontCodeTired.com > Pluralsight Courses: http://bit.ly/psjasonroberts > > =========================================================== > I welcome VSRE emails. Learn more at http://vsre.info/ > =========================================================== > > > > *From:* Scott Barnes <[email protected]> > *Sent:* Sunday, 26 October 2014 3:01 PM > *To:* ozDotNet <[email protected]> > > > > You guys should check out IkeaHacks .. basically combine Ikea furniture > and you end up with some gnarly looking things like standup desks etc :) > > > --- > Regards, > Scott Barnes > http://www.riagenic.com > > > > On Sat, Oct 25, 2014 at 5:22 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: > > Just finished making this - it’s not pretty but cost < $200 total to > make… Typing this email while standing up - seems stable with only very > slight almost imperceptible wobble…. Will be interesting doing a full weeks > work next week standing up… > > > > > > Jason Roberts > Journeyman Software Developer > > Twitter: @robertsjason > Blog: http://DontCodeTired.com > Pluralsight Courses: http://bit.ly/psjasonroberts > > =========================================================== > I welcome VSRE emails. Learn more at http://vsre.info/ > =========================================================== > > > > > > >
