If you really want to make friends with your coworkers (or just get strange looks from them), try standing two or three feet above them all day long. That's right, get yourself a standing desk.
When I first started working at The Huffington Post in June 2011, the buzz surrounding the health benefits of standing desks had just begun. In college, I hacked together a makeshift standing desk using a milk crate and an old cardboard box, and I loved it. But, being the smallest fish in a very big pond at HuffPost, I didn't want to "stand" out (pun intended) in a bad way, so I reluctantly went about my day from a seated position.
To my pleasant surprise, a few weeks later, I found a treadmill desk in the office. "Hey, maybe this company is more receptive to this movement than I thought." So, I took to working from the desk on occasion, and actually blogged about it, too. Unfortunately, the setup wasn't the most convenient thing in the world (for obvious reasons), and I found myself at the desk less and less each week.
After a few painful months hunched over at my desk, my brilliant colleague Justin Isaf pulled me aside and asked if I would join him in requesting a pair of standing desks for the two of us. Of course I was willing to help, and when our new standing desks arrived a few weeks later, I was happy as a clam.
For the eight weeks I used that desk, I felt like a million bucks. Sure, I got some funny looks from my coworkers, but overall it was an amazing experience. Not only was I feeling healthier and more energized, but it gave me an opportunity to meet new people and tell them about the dangers of sitting all day.
Sadly, when I left the New York office in mid-May in favor of a remote working arrangement in my native St. Louis, I couldn't take the desk with me. Of course, I told myself I would set up my own standing workstation at home, but I got busy and lazy, and two months later I find myself typing this while hunched over at a small desk in my kitchen.
Unfortunately for me, I suffer from a particularly painful inflammatory condition called costochondritis (otherwise known as Tietze syndrome). Most likely caused by a combination of stress and spinal misalignment, the cartilage that connects my ribs to my sternum becomes inflamed and causes sharp stabbing pains, pressure and tightness in my chest, and occasionally pain that radiates down my arm and in my back. It's not only painful but terrifying, since the symptoms mimic a heart attack. The condition flared up once or twice in New York, but once I got the standing desk I didn't have any issues. I was thrilled. But, now that I'm back to working all day from a seated position, it's back and more painful than ever.
So, I'm now in the process of hacking together another standing desk using an old dresser and some scrap plywood. It should be about a $20 project, but the benefits will be priceless.
For anyone suffering from back pain or any other inflammatory condition caused by spinal issues, I'd recommend giving the standing desk a shot. Sure, you might get some funny looks, but you might also rid yourself of chronic pain and discomfort and add a few years on to your life, too.
Have you tried (or considered trying) a standing desk? Let me know about your experience in the comments!
For more by Chris Spurlock, click here.
For more on personal health, click here.
Follow Chris Spurlock on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@ChrisSpurlock
Glenn D. Braunstein, M.D.: Are You Sitting Down? That Inactivity May Impair Your Health
Estelle Underwood: Don't Just Sit There -- Take a Stand!
Chris Spurlock: Chris Spurlock: My 8-Hour Workday On The Treadmill Desk
First of all, working from home, rather than in the office, is a great help. The freedom to move about while on a phone call and also to take frequent short breaks and move around is most helpful
For computer work, we got a Ergotron work station. You can adjust it very easily, manually lifting or lowering it, for seated, perched (as on a stool) or standing positions. It has been a great help relieving back pain.
Also, taking a break and doing the alignment exercises by Pete Egoscue or yoga really helps.
And also we got a big monitor. This enables us to adjust the the resolution, so we are not bending forward straining to read/see. Almost all computer users have forward head posture, from straining to read small fonts on the screen.
And the ultimate relief we have found is working in a less stressful environment. We are currently at the beach in Thailand. It is great to take a break and take a swim in the warm ocean!
I try to work at my desk standing 3 days a week or at least 1/2 of every day. It makes a huge health difference for me . . .
It's a pleasure to see It's waiting there for me To keep my hopes alive
Such a comfort to know It's got no place to go It's always there
It's the one thing I've got A huge success My good old desk"
First verse of "Good Old Desk" by Harry Nilsson
Tell me more about your futuristic "takes occupational health seriously" work environment... *sighs*
Dan M
Ninja Standing Desk
The World's First Portable Standing Desk
http://www.NinjaStandingDesk.com
Maybe a better post would be that you like standing or partial standing? Who knows? LoLz