For the longest time, I’ve refrained from broaching the topic of standing desks no matter if the experts say they’re good for our health, for the simple reason that I can’t recommend what I haven’t yet tried.  I keep telling myself one of these days I’m going to get someone to fix me up a nice standing desk once and for all, but there’s always something else: procrastination wins.

Hemingway was already at his standing desk before it became cool.

Maybe I should read the science journals again, and be reminded why the sedentary lifestyle can kill.  A sedentary lifestyle has always been a culprit in many chronic diseases, no doubt.  And how much more sedentary can we get than by strapping ourselves to an office chair—no matter how cosy it is—for eight hours every day, five days a week, year after year?  Apparently sitting slows down metabolism, and essentially shuts the body down.  Blood sugar, cholesterol, and triglycerides levels aren’t properly managed when one is sitting all day. 

And yet, I still don’t find all these information compelling enough to abandon the swivel chair and start standing.      

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This time around though, that long-postponed project just might get built after all.  We’re buying a new desktop PC for the house after our four-year-old, much-obsolete Pentium 4 suddenly conked out.  (Yes, even as tablets threaten to displace desktops, we still swear by the traditional PC mode—they can be easily upgraded and repaired, is generally more powerful, and greener than laptops.)    

Anyway, it’s high time we changed the desk too.  Adoption rate might be initially low because let’s face it, standing up can be quite a chore.  (Standing for too long has its own health risks, too, in the form of varicose veins).  And there’s bound to be bouts of complaints from my family members—“How am I supposed to enjoy Facebook while standing up?”  As a sort of dress rehearsal, I’ve taken to using the kitchen counter as a temporary standing desk, it’s just the perfect height, and it turns out to be a joy to use.  This makes me think that eventually we’ll all grow to love the new desk.

The way I see it, a standing desk has some other advantages beyond the health aspect:

It keeps you alert and focused.

Ernest Hemingway reportedly wrote at a standing desk. (As a result, his sentences were brief and snappy), and so did Charles Dickens and Kierkegaard.  That’s not to say switching to a standing desk will instantly transform us into philosophers and bards, unless we’re already one to begin with.  But the fact remains we’re more focused and productive when we are literally on our toes.

It can reduce screen time.

In the home setting, a standing desk just might be the perfect deterrent against lingering too long in front of the PC.  When we’re required to stand while using the PC, we’re less inclined to dillydally with non-essential web browsing.  Instead, we become inspired/driven to finish our task as quickly as possible.  We even seize every opportunity to walk away from the screen and take short breaks now and then.  The result: less time spent in front of the screen and more time offline doing the things that matter.  Also, more power saved.

It develops good posture

One of the great mysteries of life is why slouching feels so good when it’s supposed to be bad.  Never mind that.  A standing desk ends all that slumping in front of the PC since now you don’t have a chair to fall back on.  As long as the desk has the right measurements, your only job is to stand tall and maintain a good posture and carry that over to your daily life.  

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So, while I’m not yet sure exactly what specs I want for the new PC, I’m pretty much decided on the standing desk.  All I need now is a good carpenter to show the plans.