Keep in mind that physical exercise and mental concentration both deplete a common resource pool of glucose in the brain. There are robust, well replicated experiments that show it's significantly harder to perform <i>any</i> mental task while exercising. Daniel Kahneman has a great everyday demonstration of this: While walking with a friend, ask her to multiply two two-digit numbers and see if she slows down. (You can also try it on yourself while jogging at the upper limit of your ability -- it's very noticeable.) Check out the experiments of Roy F. Baumeister for more info.<p>This isn't to say walking desks are necessarily a bad idea. It's possible that, at low walking speeds, the health benefits of exercise outweigh the impairment of your concentration.
"I lost 3 lbs and a percent of body fat in a week"<p>I always wonder when I see this - are other people's weights that stable? I can lose (or gain) 5-10 lb in a week without doing anything different, other than weighing myself at different times of the day, drinking more or less water, various other things.
Walking desks are inefficient and overkill for the ergonomic concerns of desk work.<p>The practical solution is to have a properly adjusted [1] workstation and get up to walk around for ~5 minutes every hour. On a treadmill, you will lose more than 5 minutes due to inefficiency anyway. And the 5 minute break you take can be used productively (meet with a co-worker, make a phone call).<p>Having a standing desk in addition to a sitting desk and switching between them throughout the day can also be very beneficial.<p>The key is movement: there is no active blood flow to your spinal discs, they need movement or microtrauma will accumulate. There are also no nerve endings in your discs, so you don't feel anything until there is already serious damage.<p>[1] - <a href="http://www.stanford.edu/dept/EHS/prod/general/ergo/PDFs/self_evaluation.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://www.stanford.edu/dept/EHS/prod/general/ergo/PDFs/self...</a><p>Make the adjustments on the second page as best you can in the order they are presented.
While I like the idea behind walking desks, this article does not do a great job explaining exactly "why every office should switch to walking desks".<p>He spends a lot of time discussing calories burned and weight loss, but that's really not the primary motivator for getting a walking desk. If your goal is simply weight loss, you're probably better off going to the gym and doing higher intensity exercise several times a week.<p>The point of a walking desk is that sitting in an office chair for extended periods of time negatively affects your health <i>even if you exercise regularly</i>, i.e. one hour in the gym isn't sufficient to offset the eight hours you spend sedentary. So by walking (albeit at a slow pace), you're reducing the time spent being sedentary.
I personally think that walking desks are a bit impractical and rather extreme. However I did install a standing desk in my office which has made a noticeable difference in my (working) life. I don't use the desktop there as my primary machine - I still have my regular sit down desk in another corner of the room. But I like being able to get up and walk around every now and then without interrupting my workflow.<p>Thing is, it's cloud technology (Dropbox, gmail, etc.) that makes it all possible. I get exactly the same picture of my work from pretty much any machine conngected to the Internet. That, and wifi. And cheap second computers...
An observation of a sample size of 1, is not a scientific basis for any greater population. He did not do a study, this is an anecdote. From his headshot he does not look like he was already out of shape. It is likely some people could not handle this, or are more likely to get injured.<p>It may be good for some, but clearly he should not be giving out medical advice based on his personal experience. Also, is it even healthy for his body type of loose so much in one week?<p>Wouldn't it be better if people just didn't sit behind the desk, got up for a while, took a mental break, and went to a gym? There are likely productivity side effects of trying to exercise, work, and type at the same time.
Standup desk i understand<p>Had customers who conf called from treadmill, not convenient when huffing and breathing happens , had hard time<p>Just using keyboard or mouse in a comfortable position people get RSI, What work would this be recommended for if it has any health benefit at all
What about the postman syndrome?<p>Relying on the results of the first week and presenting them as some misleading charts, are not the best way to encourage people to buy these desks. It is obvious this is an advertising article. In next few months your body will consider this as a habit, adapt to the situation, hit a plateau, stop burning extra calories and you start gaining weight despite the fact you are walking everyday (The postman syndrome !!). unless you change the intensity of your exercise, which is not possible at all while you are working. I am sure there are plenty of researches on postman syndrome that you could include.<p>So why don't you just talk about the actual benefits for body, and skip the weight loss part?
I'm confused, and a little depressed, that anyone would describe four miles per hour as "a light run." Maybe, if you're four feet tall?<p>Also, I agree with the "April Fools" question but I'm afraid the answer is "no, it's just TechCrunch."
Sounds like a nice setup, but it always kills the article for me when someone claims that everyone should use the same solution.<p>It's a bit expensive as well, although I guess a DIY solution shouldn't be that difficult.
I have a walking desk in my home office.
I personally don't care about weight.
I do care about moving more. I notice that I can concentrate much longer. (I think it's because my blood has a better circulation.)<p>I don't know if it's a good thing for everyone, I know it helps me. I have installed it 24 december and today 3 March, I have already walked 750 Km. All of that while working.<p><a href="http://www.hanoulle.be/2013/02/im-working-from-a-walking-desk/" rel="nofollow">http://www.hanoulle.be/2013/02/im-working-from-a-walking-des...</a>
This title is ridiculous, and walking desks are outclassed by simple standing desks. You don't need to be walking for 8 hours a day to get the type of results this guy claims to have gotten (by the way, bodyweight fluctuates 5-10lb in a day either way pretty easily). Doing a sprint style working for 20 minutes a day will give you great results and is short enough to fit into your day.
Okay... but only if managers are required to wear the EVA (Employee Visualization Appendage).<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yK9Cs_UcTEE" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yK9Cs_UcTEE</a>
I can't help but be reminded of John Kilduff from Let's Paint TV.<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r72zqjDNW2M" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r72zqjDNW2M</a>
if you are going to be walking in front of your desk it seems foolish to use electricity to power both your computer and the "walking simulator" or treadmill. Why not just have an non-powered treadmill that is capable of generating electricity for the rest of the workstation with the energy you expend?