Core77

Have a seat. Especially if you'd like to die quicker

By Rain Noe - July 16, 2010

in Object Culture

Sometimes the design of animals is really not intuitive at all. Both horses and dogs have four legs, roughly the same body shape, and similar running mechanics, yet a horse spends its downtime on its feet, while dogs spend their idle moments off their feet.

Question is, which are we humans designed for?

I'd always assumed sitting down was natural, and even good for your posture provided industrial designers spent the appropriate amount of time injecting good support points in their designs. So a study published in the Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise journal puts forth a central point I really didn't want to know: That sitting is bad for you. Yes, sitting. And even more damning, it's still bad for you even if you break it up with exercise.

As The Times reports,

...To no one's surprise, the men who sat the most had the greatest risk of heart problems. Men who spent more than 23 hours a week watching TV and sitting in their cars (as passengers or as drivers) had a 64 percent greater chance of dying from heart disease than those who sat for 11 hours a week or less.

What was unexpected was that many of the men who sat long hours and developed heart problems also exercised. Quite a few of them said they did so regularly and led active lifestyles. The men worked out, then sat in cars and in front of televisions for hours, and their risk of heart disease soared, despite the exercise. Their workouts did not counteract the ill effects of sitting.

Jeez. So what's the deal? We're designed with two legs, but surely we're not meant to be on them and walking around all the time, are we? Surely we're meant to sit, even if on the ground, for at least brief periods of time--otherwise why are our asses all soft and cushy?

Maybe it's just that we're not meant to sit for 8 hours a day in an office. (Try telling that to our bosses, let's see what they say.) And if these facts are taken seriously, what will this mean for furniture design? We've seen a couple of stabs at standing desks and treadmill desks, what do you think we'll see next?

via kottke

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Van

13 years ago

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I want to hear more about this treadmill desk..
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Van

13 years ago

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I really want to get one of those exercise balls for my office. They feel so much better than sitting on a stiff chair all day, and plus they are fun and make work much more interesting.
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Walter J

14 years ago

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Of course we're not designed to sit, sitting in chairs is far from a human universal and this is not news. In India craftspeople typically crouched to do their work, and no, it's not because they are poor and couldn't afford chairs or something racist like that - when the British gave Indian labourers chairs and tables the Indian craftspeople crouched on the chairs to work at the tables. Sitting at the height and in the manner Westerners are accustomed to is culturally and historically specific.
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Joel

14 years ago

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We had a steelcase rep leave a walkstation at our office for a few weeks:

http://www.steelcase.com/en/products/category/tables/adjustable/walkstation/pages/overview.aspx

It happened to be immediately next to my desk, and was left as a 'floater' station so everyone in the office could try. I used it a bunch and found it quite enjoyable once you got used to typing/mouse work while walking. I'm a fairly active individual outside of work, but I would have a hard time working all day while walking, though maybe that would change if I committed full time. I found it worked best for when I had to sit on long conference calls where the computer wasn't critical...
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Jackie Criswell

14 years ago

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makes sense to me. I hate sitting for long periods of times it always makes me feel out of sorts, swollen feet,
tense,tight muscles,aches..it can also cause blood clots.
According to my Doc. if your trapped to a desk for hours a day, do try to get up and stretch, walk at least every 30 minutes. Easier said than done I know. At times I'm lucky to get a daily lunch break and 2 fifteen minutes breaks!
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Nayhem

14 years ago

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Interesting but probably the most useless piece of info ive received lately. What am I gonna do,stop sitting? Besides, the heart has to work harder when your standing than when your reclining anyhow. Let's see some more independent studies.
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NN

14 years ago

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The solution is a more dynamic approach to desk-setups;
Working on a ScooterDesk results in a posture inbetween standing and seating.

http://utilia.be/collection/scooterdesk

The Building Efficiency department of Johnson Controls researches such innovation in the workplace

http://www.globalworkplaceinnovation.com

The have published a report on the workspace in 2030 in which ScooterDesks are extensively featured.(click tour)

http://www.johnsoncontrols.com/publish/us/en/products/building_efficiency/gws/gwi/projects_workplace_innovation/futures_workplace_innovation/futures_report.html

Full report background;
http://www.johnsoncontrols.com/publish/us/en/products/building_efficiency/gws/gwi/projects_workplace_innovation/futures_workplace_innovation/workplace_futures_workshop_innovation_FM_RE.html

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Solomon

14 years ago

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I think despite we are not designed to act what the society believe. We (designer) make the working place more pleasant. How will us work without the use of chair? I think it enable us to work more but in the same time taxing our spine. A chair and a table is also a tool in some sense. We need to know it limits and how to make good use of it.
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buntklicker.de

14 years ago

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Seriously, I think we (men, that is) are made to alternate between standing/walking/running and lying down (sleeping). All other activities (eating, having sex) are secondary and not meant to last more than a few minutes (tell *that* to our women!).
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Daniel

14 years ago

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I would prefer a "lying down" work places to standing ones. I can imagine a massage table with monitor under it and cut outs for hands to reach down to keyboard. alternatively, an up-facing arrangement with monitor hovering above a lounge chair and an angled ergonomic keyboard somewhere on or above the user's stomach.

I would work, doze off, work some more...
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