Twenty-five years ago Michael Stipe wrote the lyrics to a song called “Stand” that appeared on R.E.M.’s Green album. He intentionally wrote very inane lyrics to the song, but it turns out he was ahead of his time with the line "stand in the place where you work."And it’s not just a trendy thing to do to show that you’re cool. It might actually save your life.There are a growing number of studies that show that sitting in a chair all day just isn’t good for the human body. Our bodies aren’t designed to be sedentary. We can reduce our risk of all sorts of health problems like diabetes, cancer, obesity, and heart disease by following Theodore Roosevelt’s approach to life: “Get action!”Of course most of us have a job to do during the day, so we can’t go hike in the mountains, or wrestle alligators, or ride a bicycle. But we can stand.I have a standing desk at work. That doesn’t mean the desk stands. It means that I stand. I used to sit. But then when I read about these studies and did a little research, I decided that maybe I shouldn’t sit so much. I like my life. I’d like to prolong it.And before you say, “Well I don’t have to worry about sitting too much, because I go to the gym every night and run sixty-four miles and lift thirty-two thousand pounds,” there’s something you should know. Sitting for more than six hours per day does damage to your body that can’t be undone by exercise!It seems crazy, I know. I didn’t believe it either, until I read one doctor compare it to assuming that jogging after work would make up for the pack of cigarettes you smoked at work.Luckily, around the same time that I first began hearing about the detrimental effects of sitting, I was moving into a new office at work. When my boss asked me if I wanted a new desk, I said “Sure!” and ordered one of those fancy standing desks. (I don’t like to shill for companies, but I got a GeekDesk and it’s awesome!)
For the first three or four weeks of the great standing experiment, I thought, “Good lord, what have I done?” My feet hurt, my back hurt, my hips hurt.I felt like someone who’d been standing all day!The human body is remarkable though. After a few weeks I adapted. The soreness in my back and hips went away, and after I purchased a soft, sturdy fatigue mat to stand on, my feet no longer hurt.I’ve been standing for almost a year-and-a-half now, and all is well. According to a 2013 study, standing instead of sitting burns an extra 50 calories per hour. That doesn’t sound like much, but I stand for seven hours a day. That’s 350 calories, which works out to about 20 pounds per year!That might sound like a lot, and I’d bet it’s probably an overestimation, but even if it’s one-half or one-quarter of that amount, it’s worth it.I’ve noticed that standing allows me to move around much more than I used to. If I need a moment to think I’ll pace around my office instead of just sitting in a chair and staring off into space. I stretch. I walk to the window every hour or so just to look out and see what’s going on. It’s great.And if I didn’t get much sleep the night before, or if it’s just been a really long day, I can push a button and the desk moves down to regular height and I can sit in a chair.Standing while working isn’t a new phenomenon. Donald Rumsfeld does it. Dickens and Hemingway both stood while they wrote. Michael Dell who founded Dell Computers stands and works. So did Jefferson and Franklin.And while there’s no evidence supporting the health benefits, I’ve found that skipping down the hall at work helps add a little excitement to everyone’s otherwise uneventful day. So do cartwheels.But if you can’t skip or do cartwheels at work, at least try the standing desk. Your body will thank you.+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++With all the extra energy you'll have from standing you can like my Facebook page: Brett Baker Writes. Like it, please.
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