Sitting all day may be wrecking your health. Are you going to stand for that? Stand-Up Desk Tips There has in recent years been a broad trend away from "desktop" PCs toward laptops and other mobile computers. But buying a laptop for a stand-up desk isn't ideal, because the goal is to incentivize standing. If family members can simply grab a laptop and plunk themselves down on the sofa in front of the TV, all fails. Also, a laptop used without a stand-alone keyboard places the screen very low, just above your hands, which is uncomfortable to use. So it’s a good idea to buy a desktop PC for a stand-up desk. All-in-one computers, such as the Apple iMac line or the Dell XPS One 27, are very good choices for stand-up computers. It's easy for PCs of any kind to bring ugly visual clutter into your home, especially wires and cables all over the place.
Stand-up desks can be incredible space-saving devices compared with a regular desk and chair. Another option is just a wall-mounted shelf, with the monitor mounted on the wall. Innovative office chair design eases “sitting disease” | Innovationedge. Courtesy: Focal We all do a lot of sitting. In our daily work routine it seems there is barely enough time to move from office chair to airplane seat to the conference room before fatigue and poor health begin to take a toll on our bodies. It’s becoming a dangerous epidemic and an occupational hazard for those who must sit for long hours. As I was browsing through Business Insider a few days ago, I saw this new concept from Focal: an upright furniture design that’s helping to end “sitting disease” and all of the aches and injuries we can get from sitting too much on the job.
The design changes your posture and, while perhaps awkward, will give the user a break from the standard office chair. The limited edition seats and desks cost between $500 and $950, but could go as high as $1,150 if the idea turns out to be something consumers will go for. Related articles Leave a Reply You must be logged in to post a comment.
Sitting for More Than Three Hours a Day Cuts Life Expectancy. Focal Office Chair Tries To End 'Sitting Disease' Focal Locus Workstation. Save yourself some pain in the ass Henry David Thoreau, in his famous work Walking, writes that when he thinks of those who work indoors all day sitting, “as if the legs were made to sit upon, and not to stand or walk upon… they deserve some credit for not having committed suicide long ago.” Thoreau’s words don’t bode well for cubicle-dwellers though. Indeed, Henry D. was no fool: sitting still all day at a desk has been proven to cause serious health problems. Luckily, designer Martin Keen has provided us with an alternative to death by sore butt with his Focal Locus Workstation ($1,150+).
The work station’s unique pivoting leg seat is not stable; it moves, allowing you to find your perfect balancing point anywhere from nearly sitting to nearly standing (as long as you range between 4’11″ to 6’8″, and weigh under 400 pounds). Buy Now: Seat $650+ | Desk $1,150+ Kill Your Desk Chair—and Start Standing. Arise, office workers of the world! You have nothing to lose but your chairs.
And even if they are of supple executive leather or high-tech Aeron mesh, those chairs are lethal. A raft of recent medical research has shown that the more time a person spends sitting every day, the more likely he or she is to suffer from heart disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer, and, worst of all, an early death. One recent study, from the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La., followed 17,000 Canadians over 12 years and found that those who sat for most of the day were 54 percent more likely to die of heart attacks than those who didn’t.
The findings have spawned a new diagnosis: “sitting disease.” And strikingly, even regular exercise and a healthy diet don’t protect you—sitting in a chair for eight hours after going to the gym and munching on tempeh is still sitting. For those in nonsedentary lines of work these findings are probably validating. Standing desks aren’t new. U.S. Political News, Opinion and Analysis - HuffPost Politics. Chris Spurlock: Why I Love My Standing Desk. If you really want to make friends with your coworkers (or just get strange looks from them), try standing two or three feet above them all day long. That's right, get yourself a standing desk. When I first started working at The Huffington Post in June 2011, the buzz surrounding the health benefits of standing desks had just begun. In college, I hacked together a makeshift standing desk using a milk crate and an old cardboard box, and I loved it.
But, being the smallest fish in a very big pond at HuffPost, I didn't want to "stand" out (pun intended) in a bad way, so I reluctantly went about my day from a seated position. To my pleasant surprise, a few weeks later, I found a treadmill desk in the office. After a few painful months hunched over at my desk, my brilliant colleague Justin Isaf pulled me aside and asked if I would join him in requesting a pair of standing desks for the two of us. For the eight weeks I used that desk, I felt like a million bucks. Focal Locus Workstation Seeks To Prevent 'Sitting Disease' Your desk is killing you. Sound dramatic? "Sitting Disease" is a real thing, and between commuting, sitting all day at work and then sitting at home, there are some very tangible, adverse effects on a person’s health.
Enter the Locus workstation from Focal. Just how bad is the problem? A study in 2008 by Vanderbilt University found that 55 percent of the average American’s waking time -- or 7.7 hours per day -- is spent in sedentary behaviors such as sitting. Entrepreneur Martin Keen, who founded KEEN Footwear, is attempting to thwart Sitting Disease with the Locus workstation from Focal, a new desk designed around avoiding the unhealthy stagnancy of sitting at a desk.
Although the Locus upright seat harbors a strange aesthetic, it could help usher in more designs that have the dangers of constant sitting ingrained into their creation. Focal Upright Furniture's Half-Sitting, Half-Standing Desk Equal Parts Dorky, Hilarious (PHOTOS) Looking for a break from sitting at work all day, but too tired to stand? Now a new desk from Focal Upright Furniture gives office workers the opportunity to sit and stand at the same time -- or do neither depending how you look at it -- Businessweek reports. The half-sitting, half-standing workstation costs about $1,800, but allows workers to rest in their “natural, neutral posture” by leaning on a stool-like seat and using an adjustable-height desk, according to designer Martin Keen. The work station might seem a bit strange, but using it is likely the healthier than sitting at a traditional desk.
Sitting down for extended periods of time can pose serious health risks including heart attack, nerve pain, back pain and obesity. As a result, standing desks, such as those made by GeekDesk, are becoming increasingly popular. Indeed, 10 percent of employees at the Dulles office of The Huffington Post’s parent company AOL use standing desks, The Washington Post reports. Loading Slideshow. Focal Locus Workstation. The Young & the Talented at ICFF. Although we were excited to see our favorite name-brand designers, we were even more thrilled to see the newest crop of companies on display at the Javits and around the city. After checking out their innovative and ambitious designs, we know our future is in good hands.
Here’s a look at some up-and-coming designers that caught our eye at ICFF and New York Design Week this year! Edwin Blue: Industrial designer Clayton Vogel and architect Matthew Hufft are longtime friends and founders of Edwin Blue, a furniture company that focuses on beauty, functionality and quality. Though they are know for their outdoor furniture, they introduced a new indoor line at ICFF and went on to win a “Metropolis Likes” design award for the furniture collection. Louis Lim: Louis Lim, former assistant to and good friend of Takeshi Miyakawa, introduced the Round & Round at WantedDesign‘s 12×12. Volk Furniture: Volk Furniture introduced one of its new pieces at ICFF, the Walnut Dresser and Hutch. Cure to ‘Sitting Disease?’: Contemporary Workstation by Focal Upright Furniture Isn’t Sitting or Standing. It seems like everything can be linked to an increased risk for cancer these days. For example, last year, we reported that sitting for hours on end is one of them.
For many who work at a desk, there is little choice than to sit. Sure, office furniture designers have made great strides in ergonomic chair design. On the slightly extreme side, some offices have even started installing higher desks that allow for a treadmill to fit underneath so employees could walk at a slow pace whilst typing away. Locus by Focal Upright Furniture, plays on this concept — minus the treadmill. Locus (Photo: Focal Upright Furniture) According to JustStand.org, studies report the average person sits about 7.7 hours a day, some hedging as high as 15 hours a day. That’s where workstations like Locus come in. Developed by Martin Keen, Locus is “designed to move with you, encourage active engagement, and allow your creative juices to flow.” Office Upgrade: Half-Standing, Half-Sitting Workstation. What it is: a seat that you lean on, but don’t sit on, and an adjustable-height desk Cost: seat starts at $650; desk starts at $1,150 A seat for standing may seem like a contradiction, but Jamestown (R.I.)
-based Focal Upright Furniture believes an upright, half-standing, half-sitting posture improves circulation and can help office workers stay focused. The new Locus workstation, available in fourth quarter 2012, includes an adjustable stool ($650) that tilts and pivots on a base. The stool distributes some weight to the legs. “There is a place between standing and sitting where our body wants to be. Focal Upright Furniture, a desk that adapts to your needs. Locus Seat by Focal Upright Furniture | The Future of Office Chairs | Boston | BOS | Product.
Let’s talk about your office chair. It’s got some nice features: dark leather. Minimal squeaking. Built-in toaster oven. Problem is, it’s killing your back. What you need: a chair that looks so crazy, it must be good for your body. Presenting the Locus Seat by Focal Upright Furniture, a customizable number that lets you not quite sit but not quite stand, available now for preorder. Picture a bicycle seat. So cut to a regular workday. Oh, and you’ll also probably want to get the matching desk, a drafting-style table that angles down to complement your new semi-standing posture. Which happens to complement your semi-working posture. Locus Seat by Focal Upright Furniture Locus Seat by Focal Upright Furniture official website. I'm Keen on Focal Upright Furniture. Lloyd Alter/CC BY 2.0 Martin Keen is known for reinventing the shoe with his hybrid footwear; now he is reinventing the workspace with his Focal Standing Desk. TreeHugger has long been a fan of standing desks, and I am writing this post while standing.
But not everyone is up for doing it all day. Keen writes: Sitting disease is epidemic. I tried it and found that it did indeed take a load off the feet, while still allowing a lot of movement. A pivoting leg adjusts instinctively to every move you make allowing Locus(TM) to support your natural balancing point. The desk is built like my old drafting board, with a top that adjusts for height and tilt, which I think is a must for a standing desk, you want to get your forearms at right angles, parallel to the floor, no matter what your height.
Focal Upright Furniture/Promo image There are, I think, a few issues. Martin Keen's Alternative Workstation Design. Like the companies in our standing desk reviews, industrial designer Martin Keen sought to create an alternative design for a workstation, something that would obviate the need to sit. But as he experimented with standing desks, he found he eventually wanted something to lean against, and rigged up an old tractor seat that he could use for support without fully sitting on it. "Keen began leaning while working," writes his company, Focal Upright Furniture. "He suddenly realized he was no longer aware of posture—he was simply energized and focused on his creative work. " The result of this discovery is Keen's Locus Workstation, consisting of a standing desk and a leaning seat design based on what he originally rigged up with the tractor seat. The Locus is due to launch this Fall. Focal locus workstation News, Videos, Reviews and Gossip - Gizmodo.
Focal Locus workstation splits the difference between sitting and standing. Designer Martin Keen, with his Locus semi-standing work station Image Gallery (2 images) With digital technology making its presence felt in an increasing number of fields, more and more people are finding that their formerly somewhat-active jobs now entail their sitting at a computer all day.
Unfortunately, as most of us are by now aware, sitting for long periods of time has been shown to significantly raise a person’s chances of dying from cardiovascular, metabolic, or other types of disease. While stand-up work stations have been offered as an alternative, standing for too long can also take a toll on our well-being. Focal Upright Furniture has attempted to reached a best-of-both-worlds middle ground, however, with its new Locus work station. The Locus consists of two parts, the desk and the seat. The desk is not unlike a traditional drafting table, with a large flat hardwood work area which can be tilted to different angles or raised to different heights. About the Author. Focal Upright Furniture. July 06, 2012 Martin Keen, industrial designer and founder of Keen Footwear, has now applied his utilitarian aesthetic to the modern workplace with Focal Upright Furniture.
Keen developed the line of upright furniture after using standing desks in his own studio. Standing was tiring and he soon found himself leaning against a modified seat. Using an old stool with the seat tilted forward, Keen began leaning while working. He suddenly realized he was no longer aware of posture – he was simply energized and focused on his creative work. Research into the new phenomenon of “sitting disease” confirmed that this was a major improvement on the office cubicle. Locus™ lets you rock the day job in a posture halfway between standing and sitting. Upright workstation aims to fight 'sitting disease' An Upright Workstation For Better Health. Founder Of Keen Reinvents The Office Chair, Aiming To Cure Sitting Disease.