Standing At Work May Be A Lot More Dangerous Than Sitting

[haidut]

I'm guessing when they say standing they mean standing still with limited/no movement? Perhaps demands on the heart are increased standing still vs sitting? From memory doesn't the soleus(and likely other muscles) aid in venous flow? But this would require movement, so unlikely to happen standing still.

I think they meant specifically those standing desks where you stand in front of them more or less still for hours at a time. Come to think of it, it is pretty obvious that this would be more stressful/bad than sitting. Who stands still for hours in the same position? The core muscles would get pretty tired at some point and with no movement the blood may begin to form clots. The incidence of varicose veins is highest in professions with prolonged standing, even if they more. Waiters, guards, concierge, etc. It is not a coincidence.

 

[Milky]

people have best results with mixing in standing and sitting

Looked into this heavily a few years ago and this is what I found as well. Some depts at my job have upgraded to the motorized standing desks with adjustable chair/stools, you just press the up or down button whenever you want to switch. I actually have a desk like this on my wish list for home, made by a company called Jarvis. I really want the bamboo one.

 

[dfspcc20]

O, The Onion, please never change. It's always great in poking fun of these silly trends. (too bad my work now blocks it due to "profanity")

www.theonion.com/video/more-office-workers-switching-to-fetal-position-de-36240
www.theonion.com/article/report-standing-at-work-can-increase-coworkers-dis-36702
www.theonion.com/article/health-experts-recommend-standing-up-at-desk-leavi-37957


Being serious though- I've used adjustable sit/stand desks at work and home for several years. In all honesty, I think I get more benefit from just being able to take frequent breaks and go for short walks outside, and occasionally being able to lie down flat for a few minutes.

 

[haidut]

I get more benefit from just being able to take frequent breaks and go for short walks outside, and occasionally being able to lie down flat for a few minutes.

Do you think this is a coincidence? Anything you do to break the deadly routine of work is healing.

 

[Repas du soir]

Whoaaa!!
That's fascinating. Thanks for sharing @haidut.

I wonder what the mechanism behind that is. I also wonder if the material of the floor a person is standing on for long periods would have anything to do with it. (I find standing on concrete painful after a while, which is stressful.)

I have a treadmill desk, and it has been amazing for me. I've noticed I'm a lot more productive while on it and my brain function and creativity are enhanced. At the same time, I can only walk and work for a few hours before becoming tired, so that's when sitting becomes handy.

In the end I think an equal amount of time spent walking, standing and sitting is probably ideal.

Did this make you lose any weight?

 

[cloudnine]

Having recently been to Dubbo zoo here in NSW, Australia and observing the orangutans, they seem to interchange between sitting and playing frequently. Shorts bursts of climbing and swinging on tree branches/ropes and then short sits before having a play again. I don't think they have been instructed on how to do this, likely all intuitive behaviour. Exhausting yourself lugging bricks around hours on end would be on par with sitting/standing still hours on end.

Unfortunately our intellect is doing a disservice to the human for whatever we are out to achieve, which for the better part of the population is to grow productivity to stimulate the economy. Sit/stand for hours on end to do a job and once you kark it, you will be replaced with another who is instructed to do the same again, no different to a bricklayer. Big corp does not care.

A man who was fishing for his dinner was approached by another man who recommended he start fishing all day so he could sell the fish for a profit in order to achieve retirement so he could fish for leisure. Go figure!

 

[GTW]

Think about it. Your heart pumping blood, down through smaller and smaller vessels, arteries to capillaries then back...
Blood tends to pool in your lower extremities. Walking, running, shifting weight from one foot to another serves with valves in your veins to help pump blood back up.

 

[JamesGatz]

I don't think sitting in a chair is natural - when my androgens are high - my body shape changes a bit and sitting feels very very awkward - it seems to even restrict the blood flow to my legs quiete a bit - the only 2 things that seem natural to me in that state is standing and laying down on an incline

 

[Perry Staltic]

When working a sitting office job I'll drink a lot of water throughout the day (about a gallon), which makes me get up and walk to the bathroom constantly.