Keep in mind that physical exercise and mental concentration both deplete a common resource pool of glucose in the brain. There are robust, well replicated experiments that show it's significantly harder to perform any mental task while exercising. Daniel Kahneman has a great everyday demonstration of this: While walking with a friend, ask her to multiply two two-digit numbers and see if she slows down. (You can also try it on yourself while jogging at the upper limit of your ability -- it's very noticeable.) Check out the experiments of Roy F. Baumeister for more info.
This isn't to say walking desks are necessarily a bad idea. It's possible that, at low walking speeds, the health benefits of exercise outweigh the impairment of your concentration.
I have to wonder if training and repetition might make a difference there; for instance, after a week of doing computations while walking, can your friend now multiply faster? The mind is an efficient adapter. It would also be interesting to discover what qualifies as exercise in those studies, and if the benefits of increased circulation and possibly a clearer airway based on improved posture, which presumably also increase brain function, could offset the glucose depletion.
I'm curious if there has been any research into walking slowly on a treadmill, though. The upper level of your ability to job is far more demanding physically. And it's also a bit demanding mentally as your body is busy mapping a route, looking out for stones or cracks you might trip on, etc. Walking slowly on a treadmill with your desk in front of you could yield a very different result.
"I lost 3 lbs and a percent of body fat in a week"
I always wonder when I see this - are other people's weights that stable? I can lose (or gain) 5-10 lb in a week without doing anything different, other than weighing myself at different times of the day, drinking more or less water, various other things.
I'm skinny, and other than the weight of the food I eat / defecate, my weight will not fluctuate at all. I can eat whatever I want, however much I want, and not gain weight. I was able to gain 5 or so pounds, but only after I ate whey everyday and did a lot of lifting.
I might be able to gain if I tried some ridiculous whey / protein diet and workout regimen, but I don't care that much. However, for the past 5 years, my weight and waist/hip size has not fluctuated at all, regardless of what I eat or excercise. Though I'm sure age will relieve me of this gift.
Ok, IIRC the maximum amount of fat you can lose in a week is around 2lb (or 1kg)
You can absolutely lose more than that, if you restrict your calories or doesn't reach macronutrient requirements you may lose lean mass.
Of course you can clock more than 2lb easily (on a first week):
- You lose muscular glycogen because of a caloric deficit - this means you also lose water
- If you weighted yourself while 'heavier' because of digestive system/bladder contents and then weighted yourself at the end of the week while relieved.
I am also skeptical of the values his armband gives for caloric expenditure.
I have the same Withings scale that he mentioned in the article. I can swing a full 5 percentage points a day on my body fat reading depending on how hydrated I am.
Walking desks are inefficient and overkill for the ergonomic concerns of desk work.
The practical solution is to have a properly adjusted [1] workstation and get up to walk around for ~5 minutes every hour. On a treadmill, you will lose more than 5 minutes due to inefficiency anyway. And the 5 minute break you take can be used productively (meet with a co-worker, make a phone call).
Having a standing desk in addition to a sitting desk and switching between them throughout the day can also be very beneficial.
The key is movement: there is no active blood flow to your spinal discs, they need movement or microtrauma will accumulate. There are also no nerve endings in your discs, so you don't feel anything until there is already serious damage.
>The key is movement: there is no active blood flow to your spinal disks, they need movement or microtrauma will accumulate. There are also no nerve endings in your discs, so you don't feel anything until there is already serious damage.
That's why a walking desk is preferable. I can walk at a slow pace for hours but standing in one place becomes tiresome after 15 minutes.
While I like the idea behind walking desks, this article does not do a great job explaining exactly "why every office should switch to walking desks".
He spends a lot of time discussing calories burned and weight loss, but that's really not the primary motivator for getting a walking desk. If your goal is simply weight loss, you're probably better off going to the gym and doing higher intensity exercise several times a week.
The point of a walking desk is that sitting in an office chair for extended periods of time negatively affects your health even if you exercise regularly, i.e. one hour in the gym isn't sufficient to offset the eight hours you spend sedentary. So by walking (albeit at a slow pace), you're reducing the time spent being sedentary.
I personally think that walking desks are a bit impractical and rather extreme. However I did install a standing desk in my office which has made a noticeable difference in my (working) life. I don't use the desktop there as my primary machine - I still have my regular sit down desk in another corner of the room. But I like being able to get up and walk around every now and then without interrupting my workflow.
Thing is, it's cloud technology (Dropbox, gmail, etc.) that makes it all possible. I get exactly the same picture of my work from pretty much any machine conngected to the Internet. That, and wifi. And cheap second computers...
In a similar vein, I'm trying to figure out why tech types keep thinking that their experiences are comparable to everyone else's.
Hint: not every office desk job just involves sitting and typing on a computer all day. I'm sure some jobs (perhaps even many) might be suitable, but certainly not all desk jobs at "every" office.
An observation of a sample size of 1, is not a scientific basis for any greater population. He did not do a study, this is an anecdote. From his headshot he does not look like he was already out of shape. It is likely some people could not handle this, or are more likely to get injured.
It may be good for some, but clearly he should not be giving out medical advice based on his personal experience. Also, is it even healthy for his body type of loose so much in one week?
Wouldn't it be better if people just didn't sit behind the desk, got up for a while, took a mental break, and went to a gym? There are likely productivity side effects of trying to exercise, work, and type at the same time.
Relying on the results of the first week and presenting them as some misleading charts, are not the best way to encourage people to buy these desks. It is obvious this is an advertising article. In next few months your body will consider this as a habit, adapt to the situation, hit a plateau, stop burning extra calories and you start gaining weight despite the fact you are walking everyday (The postman syndrome !!). unless you change the intensity of your exercise, which is not possible at all while you are working. I am sure there are plenty of researches on postman syndrome that you could include.
So why don't you just talk about the actual benefits for body, and skip the weight loss part?
Exactly, the type of thinking behind that chart casts doubt and caused me to stop reading. Just getting to standing desks is a big leap for most cultures. And I say this as someone who had their treadputer setup featured on lifehacker 7 years ago.
I walk at a little over 4mph (never really lost the military 120 paces/minute cadence, but my stride is naturally longer than the regulation 30 inches), and I regularly catch and pass full-sized people who are dressed for a run and act as if they're jogging. I can't see the point of breathing harder and getting there later, let alone putting on special clothing to do so, but yes, for some people at least, 4mph is a light run.
I have a walking desk in my home office.
I personally don't care about weight.
I do care about moving more. I notice that I can concentrate much longer. (I think it's because my blood has a better circulation.)
I don't know if it's a good thing for everyone, I know it helps me. I have installed it 24 december and today 3 March, I have already walked 750 Km. All of that while working.
This title is ridiculous, and walking desks are outclassed by simple standing desks. You don't need to be walking for 8 hours a day to get the type of results this guy claims to have gotten (by the way, bodyweight fluctuates 5-10lb in a day either way pretty easily). Doing a sprint style working for 20 minutes a day will give you great results and is short enough to fit into your day.
if you are going to be walking in front of your desk it seems foolish to use electricity to power both your computer and the "walking simulator" or treadmill. Why not just have an non-powered treadmill that is capable of generating electricity for the rest of the workstation with the energy you expend?
[+] [-] goodside|13 years ago|reply
This isn't to say walking desks are necessarily a bad idea. It's possible that, at low walking speeds, the health benefits of exercise outweigh the impairment of your concentration.
[+] [-] cmeranda|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] JohnTHaller|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] raverbashing|13 years ago|reply
Not the glicose thing really, walking uses very little energy, it would take a lot of exercise to deplete glicose, not walking slowly
but the fact that you can't concentrate while exercise is a huge deal breaker.
Not to mention the fact that while you are walking your head keeps bobbing up and down making it harder to read things.
[+] [-] slurgfest|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ojbyrne|13 years ago|reply
I always wonder when I see this - are other people's weights that stable? I can lose (or gain) 5-10 lb in a week without doing anything different, other than weighing myself at different times of the day, drinking more or less water, various other things.
[+] [-] lotsofpulp|13 years ago|reply
I might be able to gain if I tried some ridiculous whey / protein diet and workout regimen, but I don't care that much. However, for the past 5 years, my weight and waist/hip size has not fluctuated at all, regardless of what I eat or excercise. Though I'm sure age will relieve me of this gift.
[+] [-] raverbashing|13 years ago|reply
You can absolutely lose more than that, if you restrict your calories or doesn't reach macronutrient requirements you may lose lean mass.
Of course you can clock more than 2lb easily (on a first week):
- You lose muscular glycogen because of a caloric deficit - this means you also lose water
- If you weighted yourself while 'heavier' because of digestive system/bladder contents and then weighted yourself at the end of the week while relieved.
I am also skeptical of the values his armband gives for caloric expenditure.
[+] [-] rdouble|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] moron4hire|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] aggie|13 years ago|reply
The practical solution is to have a properly adjusted [1] workstation and get up to walk around for ~5 minutes every hour. On a treadmill, you will lose more than 5 minutes due to inefficiency anyway. And the 5 minute break you take can be used productively (meet with a co-worker, make a phone call).
Having a standing desk in addition to a sitting desk and switching between them throughout the day can also be very beneficial.
The key is movement: there is no active blood flow to your spinal discs, they need movement or microtrauma will accumulate. There are also no nerve endings in your discs, so you don't feel anything until there is already serious damage.
[1] - http://www.stanford.edu/dept/EHS/prod/general/ergo/PDFs/self...
Make the adjustments on the second page as best you can in the order they are presented.
[+] [-] s_baby|13 years ago|reply
That's why a walking desk is preferable. I can walk at a slow pace for hours but standing in one place becomes tiresome after 15 minutes.
[+] [-] stevenwei|13 years ago|reply
He spends a lot of time discussing calories burned and weight loss, but that's really not the primary motivator for getting a walking desk. If your goal is simply weight loss, you're probably better off going to the gym and doing higher intensity exercise several times a week.
The point of a walking desk is that sitting in an office chair for extended periods of time negatively affects your health even if you exercise regularly, i.e. one hour in the gym isn't sufficient to offset the eight hours you spend sedentary. So by walking (albeit at a slow pace), you're reducing the time spent being sedentary.
[+] [-] arbuge|13 years ago|reply
Thing is, it's cloud technology (Dropbox, gmail, etc.) that makes it all possible. I get exactly the same picture of my work from pretty much any machine conngected to the Internet. That, and wifi. And cheap second computers...
[+] [-] jacquesm|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Anechoic|13 years ago|reply
Hint: not every office desk job just involves sitting and typing on a computer all day. I'm sure some jobs (perhaps even many) might be suitable, but certainly not all desk jobs at "every" office.
[+] [-] egsec|13 years ago|reply
It may be good for some, but clearly he should not be giving out medical advice based on his personal experience. Also, is it even healthy for his body type of loose so much in one week?
Wouldn't it be better if people just didn't sit behind the desk, got up for a while, took a mental break, and went to a gym? There are likely productivity side effects of trying to exercise, work, and type at the same time.
[+] [-] senthilnayagam|13 years ago|reply
Had customers who conf called from treadmill, not convenient when huffing and breathing happens , had hard time
Just using keyboard or mouse in a comfortable position people get RSI, What work would this be recommended for if it has any health benefit at all
[+] [-] saman_b|13 years ago|reply
Relying on the results of the first week and presenting them as some misleading charts, are not the best way to encourage people to buy these desks. It is obvious this is an advertising article. In next few months your body will consider this as a habit, adapt to the situation, hit a plateau, stop burning extra calories and you start gaining weight despite the fact you are walking everyday (The postman syndrome !!). unless you change the intensity of your exercise, which is not possible at all while you are working. I am sure there are plenty of researches on postman syndrome that you could include.
So why don't you just talk about the actual benefits for body, and skip the weight loss part?
[+] [-] pimentel|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] moron4hire|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cincinnatus|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] trackofalljades|13 years ago|reply
Also, I agree with the "April Fools" question but I'm afraid the answer is "no, it's just TechCrunch."
[+] [-] stan_rogers|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Ianvdl|13 years ago|reply
It's a bit expensive as well, although I guess a DIY solution shouldn't be that difficult.
[+] [-] YvesHanoulle|13 years ago|reply
I don't know if it's a good thing for everyone, I know it helps me. I have installed it 24 december and today 3 March, I have already walked 750 Km. All of that while working.
http://www.hanoulle.be/2013/02/im-working-from-a-walking-des...
[+] [-] halcyondaze|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] socalnate1|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] joedev|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bitcartel|13 years ago|reply
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yK9Cs_UcTEE
[+] [-] 4ngle|13 years ago|reply
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r72zqjDNW2M
[+] [-] vincefutr23|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cwiz|13 years ago|reply