Save your health!
Good morning my Steemit friends. Yesterday I adapted my desk at work into a standing desk and I wanted to share my thoughts and help other chair-bound workers to the same decision.
I achieved this at no cost simply by bringing in and old TV unit that I had lying around at home as you can see in the below picture. This is a temporary measure while the company purchases us all proper height adjustable standing desks.
I'm no stranger to the concept having worked from home for over a year in the past and using one successfully then. Actually in that case I had adapted a set of shelves that I especially bought at the correct height and placed my laptop on it. It's allowed me to also avoid a cluttered desk at home, rather enjoying an attractive piece of furniture when not in use for work.
My old "standing desk" from my time working at home. Enough for a laptop, mouse & small notepad
Anyway there's been quite a push at work from a number of the employees to migrate to standing desks in order to avoid problems with back pain and the like. I don't suffer from pain but it was motivation enough for me to go back to standing ways.
I find it something to recommend. Some of my observations include
- getting hungry more quickly. It's a good indication that you're actually burning more calories just by standing and shifting your weight
- better concentration. I actually think that by standing you are more engaged with your environment and perhaps mentally think more along the lines of giving a presentation. When sitting the mind can become bored.
- less fatigue. It's difficult to fall asleep on your feet but when sitting, the mind can wander and the body can disengage.
- better posture. I find myself standing up much more straight and stretching my arms above my head as I read the screen, sometimes even tilting from side to side and generally fidgeting and moving my body which is all great stuff. The body is not meant to be sedentary
Before I'd ever tried a standing desk I was concerned that I would experience quite the opposite, namely that I would not be able to concentrate. Initially this might have been the case to some extent but I adapted to it very quickly and I found that I actually forgot I was standing.
In one instance I went to get a coffee, something that I would normally get up to do, and realised I was already up!
So I'd recommend standing to work wherever possible and sharing your findings here.
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