Computing Everywhere: Get healthier by standing up at your computer

Millions of Americans are stuck in an office for at least 40 hours a week. That time is bookended every day by commute time in the car. Even if you use gadgets to make your commute a little more pleasant, commuting an hour each day stacks your total time spent sitting on behalf of work to 45 hours. (Of course, we're not even talking about the time we spend sitting on the couch in front of the television.)

All this sitting is bad for you. Not only does it promote a sedentary life, but this much sitting is so unhealthy it's been compared to smoking. People who spend too much time sitting suffer a much greater risk of heart problems and mortality. Sitting is okay in moderation, but those of us who work in front of a computer need much less of it than we get.

One of the best advantages to working from home is that you get to control your work environment. You don't have to sit behind a desk all day. While you probably need to be at your computer, you don't have to actually be sitting in a chair. You can turn your home office into a more active, standing experience. The key here is to stand while you work, which helps encourage your body to stay awake and active.

What are the benefits to standing?
The first obvious benefit is that you avoid those health problems and increased mortality rates that we were just discussing. Just as importantly, though, you can capture significant productivity increases by standing instead of sitting. We know from our own experience that standing while you work on a computer helps you focus on your tasks and move around the office a lot easier. After all, you're already standing; a quick step across the office to access a drawer or put away a coffee cup is no big deal.

How do you switch to standing?
"Just stand up" seems like easy advice, but if you've been sitting in the workplace all of your life, you may find making the switch a little more difficult than you were expecting. Here are some fairly simple steps to help you get off your butt and onto your feet:

1. Transition gradually to constant standing. If you go straight from sitting to standing all day, you'll quickly find yourself in pain from the sudden change. While standing is certainly incredibly mild exercise, it's still more activity than simply sitting all the time (which is what your body is used to). You need time to adjust. To help avoid soreness, ease into it. Pick a date to start and a date to end the transition. We used 2 weeks for the transition period; that's not so long that you won't start accruing the health benefits, but not so quick that you won't get a chance to ease into it a bit.

Alternate between sitting and standing. The brief time you spend in a chair will feel like a restful treat, and you'll quickly see how your body needs the "exercise" of standing.

2. Elevate your keyboard, mouse, and monitor. Before you spend a bunch of money on a standing desk, try out the arrangement first. The three things you'll need to elevate immediately are your keyboard, mouse, and monitor. These are the elements of your work space that you'll be interacting with most often. Stand upright with your arms bent at a comfortable 90-degree angle, and measure the distance from your hand to your desk to get a good sense of how high your keyboard should be. Stack books or plywood to lift your keyboard that high. Do the same for your mouse, and then stacks books or other solid objects to hold your monitor in the air. You want your monitor high enough that you don't need to significantly bend your neck to read comfortably.

Your first steps into the world of standing while computing should be temporary; trust us when we say you'll need to fiddle with your heights a bit. If your keyboard is too high, you're forced to mangle your hands into a claw formation to be able to type. If it's too low, wrist strain will take a toll on your arms. Play with your setup over the first 2 weeks to make sure you get it just right.

3. Record the improvements. Standing won't mean you start losing massive amounts of weight or suddenly gain a buff body. However, you'll quickly start feeling more energetic and productive. Keep track of how your standing day proceeds. Did you get more done? How did you feel at certain periods throughout the day? Jot this information down in a diary or journal, so that you can help reaffirm that you're making the right decision.

It isn't until you've spent a few weeks standing while working that you'll feel a huge difference, especially since you need to transition into it first. But after a little bit longer, you might quickly find it absurd that anyone would sit all day. Even Donald Rumsfeld promotes standing while working, referencing Thomas Jefferson's stand-up desk. Standing will work for you; just be careful while you ease into it.

[Image credit: Plutor]

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