Well Gina, I am a doctor…and I’ll venture to say that sitting at a desk staring at a glowing rectangle for 45 hours a week is in all likelihood probably not good for your body. We’ve only become sitters in the past 100 years. Given our species’ 600,000 year history as standers, walkers, and physical laborers, it’s just common sense that our bodies aren’t designed for prolonged sitting.

Hence, the reason why I will use standing desks for as long as I can stand on my own two feet.

laughingsquid:

Gina Trapani Explains Why She Switched to a Standing Desk

Why use a standing desk?

Two reasons: Higher calorie burn and better posture. When I’m sitting at my desk, even in a fancy ergonomic chair, I tend to slump, with my back curved and shoulders forward, which closes my chest and makes my breathing more shallow. When standing at a desk where my forearms are at a 90 degree angle on the desk surface, my shoulders go back, which makes my spine concave and opens my chest. Besides the initial foot pain and muscle aches of engaged thighs and calves, it feels great.

I didn’t discuss the switch to a standing desk with my doctor, though there have been some studies about the negative health effects of excessive sitting. I’m not a doctor, but it seems obvious that human beings aren’t meant to spend 45 hours a week sitting still in a chair. Now that I’m standing, I pace, dance, and fidget a lot more freely, which is just more natural activity and calorie burn built into my day.