[Arshad Chowdhury has a post making the rounds][1] wherein he talks about the things he has learned and gained from standing at work all day long for two years. I have not noticed either of the side effects he mentioned (both the positive and negative), but most of what he says I am in agreement with.
I started standing occasionally [on October 10th, 2010][2] and went full-time [on January 25th, 2011][3]. What I can tell you about standing is that it has done wonders for me. It has alleviated a lot of back pain, and leg numbness that I had. My feet don’t get tired standing and truly don’t seem to ever get tired anymore.
I can also tell you that sitting down feels really fucking great. I don’t know if any of the health benefits are true, but my guess is that a mix of standing and sitting is the best for people. Since I don’t care to stand while I drive, or while I watch TV at home, I stand while I work.
I do advise against the setup as Chowdhury has pictured, and seems to recommend. If that’s his setup in the picture, I’d run away from that (which is easier because I am already standing). The problem with his setup is that he is looking down too much, and that will always be an issue if you use a laptop as your entire setup (meaning as your monitor, mouse, and keyboard).
I use my laptop for the screen, but have a keyboard and trackpad separate from it. This type of arrangement allows me to raise up the laptop screen to a height more inline with [ergonomic guides][4] on the issue.
If you are standing for health reasons, you should probably make sure you get *all* the benefits by adjusting your screen height. Even if you don’t stand, it’s a good idea to get that screen a little higher than you are probably used to.
[1]: http://arshadchowdhury.com/1485-what-happens-when-you-stand-for-2-years/
[2]: http://brooksreview.net/2010/10/stand-up/
[3]: http://brooksreview.net/2011/01/stand/
[4]: http://www.thehumansolution.com/ergonomic-office-desk-chair-keyboard-height-calculator.html
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