Also, get a sonic toothbrush and brush your teeth everyday.

I read a story about a toothbrush saving a life just now. http://yhoo.it/kx5pZe

Don't you get safety instructions with a new computer these days? How to sit properly and so on.

No need to be sarcastic, is there?

"How to sit properly and so on."

It's not an issue of sitting 'properly' but that the very act of sitting 8 hours a day does a lot of damage to our bodies.

Right. I use an Aeron chair, but perhaps something less ergonomic would be better, requiring one to get up more frequently.

I wasn't being sarcastic, I give that advice to students all the time.

I don't know how much is from sitting in front of a computer (before that a drawing board) or just bad family history on my part. In 1995 (at age 51), I had a quadruple bypass and in 2007, I had 4 stents put in after a minor heart attack. Having said that, I am the first male member of my family to live beyond the age of 55. Thanks to modern medicine. My older brother had his first heart attack at 39 died at 51, my father at 55, his father at 52 and even his mother at 48. All were heart related. I still do my fair share of 16 hour design sessions in front of the computer but I don't have anywhere near the stamina I did even 5 years ago. I just completely loose track of time when I am working and often forget to eat.

i remember reading an article that said "we don't really need 8 hours sleep". i'm confused now:/ i think it would be nice of other members if they share with us their experiences on health. that would be good for the young students like me and others on this forum. thank you so much.

i feel ashamed about saying this, but does having regular sex count as an exercise?

That depends if you are bragging or hoping :-)

lol

Glad to hear you're doing well Nick.

Chris: Chicken soup. Chinese or Jewish, preferably both :) Once you smell it, you'll remember to eat!

Avgolemoni for me, Bill ;-)

Drink green tea, makes you awesome.

A kind sort of post to make. Thanks Nick!

Someone was telling me about a web designer they know who has his desk on some from of hydraulic lift so they can work standing up.

One problem about using a computer is that a lot of your distractions from work are on the computer also, so you might be having a break from working but you are still sitting in the same place. I don't spend much time with a computer as I draw on paper, and breaks from that tend to involve doing things in the garden or going for a swim. Also, I work part-time in a bookshop so I am always standing there, although that is a possible cause of some of the foot problems I have.

I started using a standing desk about 4 months ago. It's a home made contraption that consists of a box on top of a desk. High tech.

But I really like it. My back is happier and, as I work at home, I can crank the music and dance like an idiot to get a bit of movement back into my day.

Studies over the past year or so have shown that there's no magic chair...it's the act of sitting that's hurting us. So, standing, at least for part of the day, is going to be a good thing.

On my to-do-list is to rig up a laptop stand on the treadmill to make good use of the hour-long conference calls I'm on.

@Nick: do you have the source that says “a recent medical study…” or a reference to the study itself? I’d like to give it a read.

Standing is better than sitting, but frankly I'm a bit dubious about that first study mentioned. Standing provides very minimal exercise, and it certainly isn't the kind of aerobic exercise that benefits the heart. I wonder if maybe the study just found a correlation, rather than an actual cause-and-effect relationship.

If the two groups in the study were identical in every respect other than the frequency of standing, the only medical connections I can see offhand might be 1) a possible reduction in blood clots that can be caused by long periods of sitting (deep venous thrombosis), or 2) a reduction in pressure ulcers (often called "bed sores") which are caused by remaining in the same position for long periods of time, and can sometimes lead to more serious health problems, especially with folks who already have health problems (elderly, diabetic, paralyzed, etc).

Don't get me wrong, standing is a good idea. I'm just a bit dubious that standing, by itself, can be statistically linked to a reduction in cardiac disease.

Without the original sources, no valid conclusions can be drawn. Everything else else is purely anecdotal.

@James: it's not that standing has benefits of exercise, it's that sitting has damages of sitting.

Here's one bit of info from NYT:

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/23/stand-up-while-you-read-...

Re: standing.

For myself, I can’t do intensive font or layout work standing 5 or 8 hours.

But I find conciously practised brakes beneficial.
Going out to the baker’s, or to the Biergarten (by feet of course).

Sometimes a bit of cooking or a good Whisky … helps keeping your curves smooth … :-)

– – – – –
For the one inventing a new definite laptop workplace architecture a new sort of the Nobel prize should be created.

@aluminum: Thanks for the link. There are a great deal of references at the end of the article. Certainly worth looking into.

Thanks for the link.

I ...ahem... stand corrected.

A cigarette is a good occasion for stretching one’s legs. At least I don’t smoke in my working room.

A cigarette is a good occasion for stretching one’s legs.

So is a dog, and they don't cause cancer. I take a lot of breaks to walk the dogs. I also break to go to the gym, and when I have a lot of reading to do, I do it at the gym. Hell, you can even proof fonts at the gym. A guy at one gym I went to was a policy wonk and a serious weightlifter; he spent two hours a night working out and between sets would write policy papers on his Blackberry. He even lugged a bag of reference materials around the gym with him.

I think the smoking negates the good effects of taking a break.

Other studies show that people who are happier and laugh more tend to be healthier.
So the phrase dying of laughter is quite inaccurate.

I'm glad to not have a drivers license and car. This means I have to do a lot more walking or cycling. This a blessing really, cause it gives me time to think, get out of the house and get some exercise. Moving at a human speed gives me a lot less stress and just means I have to take time to do things, which is good.

I often sit behind my computer, but i do notice that does not do me good, especially when the work is inneffective. My hands and feet get cold, my eyes get strained, generally feeling rather stiff. It is really hard to develop a new idea behind my computer. It is much better to see it as a tool for realising ideas, rather than getting them, though sometimes time pressure forces me too.

I love to get out and go for a walk for 1-2 hours, it just clears my head, gets the blood flowing, fresh air... I can recommend it to everyone!

Christopher:

http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/opinion/the-winston-churchill...

I often use a gym ball as a chair, it's not as good as standing, but at least it keeps me moving. It's good for the back and tummy muscles. The downside is sometimes aching achilles tendons from all that bouncing.

As for getting enough sleep:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/8500013/Seven-hours-slee...
Too little sleep affects your brain function.

I don't have a car either, but as I work from home, I don't get as much "compulsory" exercise as I'd like, especially when I'm busy and there doesn't seem to be time to go for a walk or a cycle. Even the supermarket is almost too close!
When I get on the move I use steps, rarely lifts or escalators, and use the bike or feet whenever possible. It's not enough, but better than nothing. A standing desk would be good.

I wish I could stand longer but my knees ache when I stand for more than 10 minutes. I am trying to set alarms that cu me to take a 10 minute walk every 2 hours.

I have a canoe and Jeep to help keep me sane. My passion for nature draws me away from the technical design stuff almost every weekend.

Since I am self employed my work habits are quite erratic. 9-5 (or whatever) is something I can't even understand (designing for me is more a way of life, a way to experience life). So I can understand that designing a typeface must be at times quite brutal, time must seem to pass by with the course of night and day.

And fortunately for me I've always been athletically driven. My friends and I play a lot sports like hockey and baseball, etc..

Speaking of sports...

GO BRUINS GO

@mili: actually, the exercise balls aren't necessarily good for your back:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/21/health/21really.html

And to clarify the original studies, the issue is that sitting 8 hours a day is damaging to our bodies. We might mountain climb for 8 hours a day as well, but that does not make up for sitting 8 hours a day, unfortunately.

Over a decade ago, I put my drafting table on risers, made the surface flat, and put my monitor on it. I use a Steelcase task chair (a desk chair that rises higher than a regular desk chair). So, I can sit or stand. I prefer standing.

My dad had his first bypass at 53. It was a quadruple. He's the first commercial airline pilot in the U.S. ever to be allowed to fly again after multiple bypass surgery. At 77, he had another bypass--this time a double with a valve replacement. At 82, dad's still going strong, flying sailplanes, which he began at age 70.

My mom smoked for 47 years, then in 1996, woke up 3 days in a row with pain in her chest. My dad told her it was her heart. She said it couldn't be, because she'd always had low cholesterol and clear x-rays. But on the third day of waking up like that, she had my dad take her to the hospital. The admitting physician said, "Well, you don't usually have had pain like that without some damage to the heart, but I'm not a cardiologist." After a cardiologist ran tests, he said, "I don't know how you did it, but you beat the odds. No damage to your heart, but you have one artery blocked 90%, and one 55%." Angioplasty took care of it. My mom asked how it is possible for her to have great cholesterol numbers, but have blockage. The doctor replied that they hadn't connected the dots yet, but had a staggering amount of information pointing to a link between smoking and heart disease in people with good cholesterol. Remember, this was '96--they probably have it figured out now.

We all have to go some time from some cause, butwhy rush it, or make the quality of our own lives less than what it could be? That said, I suppose we all have our vices, too. I like ice cream a little too much.

Hi Nick, thanks for sharing and caring. I just viewed this infographic, and I'd like to share with the community.
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-2420/Sitting-Is-Killing-You-Infographic.html

> My mom asked how it is possible for her to
> have great cholesterol numbers, but have blockage.

A friend of mine recently had a near-fatal heart attack even though at his last checkup his cholesterol levels were okay and he'd passed a stress test.

His doctor said that screening tests like checking cholesterol, having a stress test, etc. are very useful but are not 100% reliable as predictors.

I believe the only definitive test for blockages is a coronary catheterization, which is an invasive procedure done in a hospital, and is normally not used unless a serious problem is suspected.

Hmm... at least is explains why I find sitting still to be so hard.

@BruceS63 - Liking ice cream is so not a vice!

If sitting in front of a monitor for hours at a stretch is a problem, and you work at home, do what I did: have a kid. I promise you, you'll never have to worry about sitting still again.

[But you might wind up doing a few double posts thru sleep deprivation. Sorry.]

Been there, done that in my 40s. Now, at 67, I know I would never survive another round ;-)

Lends new meaning to the phrase "running feet" (Or heads) ;-)

Is there a generator coupled to the track?

Max, my kids are now big enough to cause trouble in the form of badgering to user the computer when I'm trying to work in the evenings…

"...my kids are now big enough to cause trouble in the form of badgering"

This stage of their "development" never ends so get used to it ;-)