UserX is worried about his bottom line. Literally. He has noticed how overweight he is getting by sitting at a computer all day for work, and then for a few hours at night to watch TV, write or play. Making time for exercise is tough with all the other responsibilities pulling at you each day.
However UserX's butt really got into gear (so to speak) when he read about how sitting for long stretches of time can be very bad for your health in the long term. As in, you are more likely to die of a heart attack, even if you exercise regularly. (Couldn't find the original article but you can go here).
Besides that little thing, sitting for more than four hours at a time can cause the following (this list is compiled from here but if you search for "computer sitting heart attack" you'll find loads of links):
- reduction in blood circulation (causing varicose veins and numbness)
- reduced fitness (duh) leading to lowering of lung efficiency (not good) and more chance of digestive problems (!)
- muscle fatigue
- increased chances of injury from a sudden movement
- increased chances of getting diabetes
The article UserX linked above has tips on what you can do to avoid the problems. However, one item left off of their list is standing up while using a computer. The original article spotted by UserX had a picture of a man from a health website having just raised the top of his desk using books and boxes. When UserX first saw that picture, he thought that there was no way he could set that up at work. And UserX has remodeled his office in so many times that people drop by every other month to see what's new. (UserX is obsessive and needs his working environment to be perfect.)
Yet it stayed in the back of UserX's mind for a long time, long enough so that one day after coming back from vacation, he gave it a try. At first UserX thought he had to attach stilts to the legs of his desk, but then it dawned on him that any object in the office that was at standing height might work. By combining a book shelf, a file drawer, table tops, doors from cabinets, boxes and books, here is what UserX is using right now to work:
(Inadvertent plug for Tim Horton's there but it's the only way to start the day in Canada.)
At first you would think that having the drawers in front would get in the way of your legs, but this doesn't happen. You are standing up after all; you don't need to put your legs under anything.
So how is it going?
UserX candidly admits that the first few days were very difficult. You have to understand, UserX has been sitting at one desk or another using computers for 25 years, and he still has 25 to go before he can retire. So standing up for several hours a day was in fact making UserX light-headed. So much so that UserX had to sit down often that first week. Luckily UserX has a portable and could switch to a chair when required.
Now that it has been a few weeks, though, UserX thinks that he will never go back. In fact UserX has remodelled his home office to be the same way. Indeed some days it's tougher than others to stand up - it takes effort and some bit of fortitude, kind of like waking up early on a Sunday - but it has been totally worth it.
Other benefits:
- Standing up for hours forces you take breaks, because you just can't stand up any longer
- If you like to listen to music while working, you can dance
- Setting this up gives you a chance to perfect your keyboard-mouse-monitor placement (again you can Google for 1,000,000+ links, but here's an example for you lazies out there)
- UserX looks like he's working even harder than usual
What's Next?
Glad you asked. This whole thing started because UserX was looking for a way to exercise at work. He came across the office-desk-treadmill. An example:
Here's one link to a DIY page where this picture came from. The current top Google search for commercial versions of this concept seems to be Treadmill Desk.
This kind of thing isn't possible with UserX's setup right now, but it's on the horizon. UserX is ready to walk across America, five days a week.
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