Standing desks are great, especially if you have lower back problems. It does take at least a week to get used to it, because initially the pressure gets transfered from your back to your legs. If you can swing it, the ideal work setup for back health is a standing desk and a sofa or easy chair you can stretch out on with a laptop. I also have a medicine ball on the floor (you can use any sort of ball, soccer, basketball, etc) to put one of your feet on from time to time in order to change positions up a bit.
Another thing to think about is monitor position. Even with a standing desk, you don't want to be looking down into your monitor... you'll eventually mess up your neck. I'm relatively tall, so I have one of those monitor swingarm things that raises my monitor up to eye level.
A suggestion for those who are space-constrained... now that we have LCD panels, you can simply mount your screen on the wall, and then use a shelf or shelving "system" to create a "desk" mounted to the wall. This is what I did at home, and it cost < $100 for the LCD mount and semi-custom shelf/desk.
Standing is great, but walking is even better. I've been using a treadmill desk for the past 7 months and have seen the same benefits Jamis noted - less fatigue, better concentration, improved posture. Walking at a slow pace (.7 to 1.2 mph) is less stressful to your joints than standing still, but you don't break a sweat and can type, use a trackball, and talk on the phone comfortably.
I find that I frequently have to get up and pace when doing any work that requires thinking work. I don't know that I'd like to work while standing however.I have a tendency to lock my knees and this leads to unfortunate consequences.
I've been working standing for the last few months, with similar results. It's definitely easier on my back, and seems to be good for my wrists as well. If you try it, make sure you mount the monitor up at eye level. When you're standing up straight, there's a lot more distance between your wrists and your eyes.
That's pretty neat. $1295 is a bit steep for me though.
I'm pretty happy with my current desk. The top is just a 68"x30" (or so) wood piece from Ikea, with legs from Ikea as well. It's very sturdy. And, while it's not beautiful like the Amish desk, it does possess its own spare elegance.
It has no drawers or shelves or anything fancy like that. For storage I've just stuck a couple mobile file cabinets underneath.
Instead of using a keyboard tray I just put my keyboard in my lap, which actually is very comfortable and leaves me space in front of my monitor so that I can sketch ideas.
The total was around $200. It's not a stand up table but I think it would be fairly easy to just get some new legs and bolt them on.
I read once in Discover Magazine that standing (and, to a lesser extent, sitting up) causes the release of stress hormones that impair thinking. Given that, a standing desk may not truly be all that.(Sorry, I couldn't find a link to it on the website. I have had trouble finding articlelettes in the R&D section of the magazine with the website's search feature before.)
Of course, whenever I need to do any truly deep thinking about a problem, it's usually not at my desk, so perhaps that detriment may not really be that important
Meanwhile, if you really want to take having an active posture while working to its extreme, I once read an article about treadmill desks...
I'll have to go home and put cinder blocks under my desk legs to prop it up to standing level and try it. I have recently noticed that I have leg fatigue at the end of each day from sitting so much, and I do all my thinking while pacing about anyway, so standing seems like an interesting option.
From what I read years ago, standing is better for your back than sitting. Especially the kind of sitting where the person slouches for hours at a time.
I've always wanted to get one of those big exercise balls to replace my general issue office chair, but a desk that I could stand at would be nice, too.
a "kneeling chair" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kneeling_chair) is a similar solution that keeps your spine straight but doesnt put stress on your legs. i have a friend who has one and he loves it
I helped my dad start an office furniture store back in the 90's, so I learned a bit about ergonomics by osmosis.
The central problem with kneeling chairs is that one of the most important ergonomic principles is that you have a natural (and necessary) propensity to shift positions every few hours. Kneeling chairs don't allow you a range of positions the way that conventional chairs, exercise balls, standing, etc. do. The ergonomics people I knew always went out of their way to say kneeling chairs were actually a bad idea.
Having said that, whatever works for you, works for you. But for people considering a kneeling chair, you want to be careful not to just try it in the store for 10 minutes, then buy it.
I had a kneeling chair once. They are great if you have a regular chair to alternate with every few hours, but kneeling for an entire day gets hard on the knees. The main benefit for me was to switch between my kneeling chair and my regular one every 3-4 hours.
[+] [-] menloparkbum|18 years ago|reply
Another thing to think about is monitor position. Even with a standing desk, you don't want to be looking down into your monitor... you'll eventually mess up your neck. I'm relatively tall, so I have one of those monitor swingarm things that raises my monitor up to eye level.
A suggestion for those who are space-constrained... now that we have LCD panels, you can simply mount your screen on the wall, and then use a shelf or shelving "system" to create a "desk" mounted to the wall. This is what I did at home, and it cost < $100 for the LCD mount and semi-custom shelf/desk.
[+] [-] shimon|18 years ago|reply
[+] [-] smhinsey|18 years ago|reply
[+] [-] projectileboy|18 years ago|reply
You can get them with quiet motors that enable you to go from sitting to standing at the touch of a button.
[+] [-] technoguyrob|18 years ago|reply
[+] [-] astine|18 years ago|reply
[+] [-] sah|18 years ago|reply
[+] [-] nonrecursive|18 years ago|reply
I'm pretty happy with my current desk. The top is just a 68"x30" (or so) wood piece from Ikea, with legs from Ikea as well. It's very sturdy. And, while it's not beautiful like the Amish desk, it does possess its own spare elegance.
It has no drawers or shelves or anything fancy like that. For storage I've just stuck a couple mobile file cabinets underneath.
Instead of using a keyboard tray I just put my keyboard in my lap, which actually is very comfortable and leaves me space in front of my monitor so that I can sketch ideas.
The total was around $200. It's not a stand up table but I think it would be fairly easy to just get some new legs and bolt them on.
[+] [-] Darmani|18 years ago|reply
Of course, whenever I need to do any truly deep thinking about a problem, it's usually not at my desk, so perhaps that detriment may not really be that important
Meanwhile, if you really want to take having an active posture while working to its extreme, I once read an article about treadmill desks...
[+] [-] Xichekolas|18 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mrtron|18 years ago|reply
I am not sure I wish to stand all day, I really would prefer to go back and forth between the two options perhaps with a laptop or two workstations.
[+] [-] jgrahamc|18 years ago|reply
[+] [-] vlad|18 years ago|reply
[+] [-] graywh|18 years ago|reply
[+] [-] raju|18 years ago|reply
[+] [-] admanrs|18 years ago|reply
[+] [-] wanorris|18 years ago|reply
The central problem with kneeling chairs is that one of the most important ergonomic principles is that you have a natural (and necessary) propensity to shift positions every few hours. Kneeling chairs don't allow you a range of positions the way that conventional chairs, exercise balls, standing, etc. do. The ergonomics people I knew always went out of their way to say kneeling chairs were actually a bad idea.
Having said that, whatever works for you, works for you. But for people considering a kneeling chair, you want to be careful not to just try it in the store for 10 minutes, then buy it.
[+] [-] Xichekolas|18 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bgutierrez|18 years ago|reply
[+] [-] brianmckenzie|18 years ago|reply