{"487581":{"#nid":"487581","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Trending at Tech: More Employees Opting to \u2018Stand and Deliver\u2019","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EEvery year, one of the most popular New Year\u2019s resolutions is to get healthier. If you\u2019ve set this goal for 2016, you may be able to work toward it without leaving your desk. How? By standing instead of sitting.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EThe standing desk is not new \u2014 notables like Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens, and Winston Churchill all stood up to work \u2014 but by the mid-20th century, the practice was viewed as eccentric. Now it\u2019s trending again in workplaces all over the country, including Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EThe main reason is growing evidence that sitting hour after hour, day after day, is bad for us. A study cited in \u003Cem\u003EMedicine \u0026amp; Science in Sports \u0026amp; Exercise\u003C\/em\u003E found that people who sit for most of the day were 54 percent more likely to die of a heart attack. Prolonged sitting is also linked to obesity, Type 2 diabetes, back problems, and other conditions. Studies on top of studies, cited in article after article, have been spreading the word: The human body was not meant to sit for long stretches of time.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EOne person who read some of those articles was Stephen DeWeerth, professor and associate dean for Research and Innovation in the College of Engineering.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EHe thought a standing desk might help his back problems. So, with the blessings of his doctor, he ordered one in 2013. (At first, he even combined it with a modified treadmill to make a walking desk, but that proved incompatible with wearing a suit every day.)\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u201cIt has helped the back problems,\u201d he said. \u201cI definitely feel better that way.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EDeWeerth characterizes himself as a \u201ccomplete convert\u201d but not a \u201ccomplete user,\u201d estimating that he stands at his desk about two hours a day. He spends a lot of time in meetings, but that\u2019s all the more reason to have a standing desk, he said. \u201cStanding is a relief from the drudgery of sitting in meetings all day,\u201d he said. \u201cMy back, my alertness, the kinds of things you might expect exercise would help with, this seems to help as well.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EOf course, DeWeerth is not the only Georgia Tech employee to unchain from the chair. Georgia Tech\u2019s newest building, the Engineered Biosystems Building (EBB), has been furnished with adjustable desks throughout, a design decision based on the growing demand among faculty and staff for a standing option.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u201cThe desk raises and lowers with the push of a button,\u201d said Carla Zachery, the EBB\u2019s director of Business Operations. \u201cWe have it as part of the original plan and not an additional cost down the road.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EIn established offices with stationary desks, people are finding ways to create their own sit\/stand options. Christian Duncan, senior IT professional for Institute Communications, said he has become an \u201cunofficial expert\u201d on standing desks, having configured more than a dozen setups for his coworkers since 2011.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u201cThe decision was made in the department that if people wanted to stand, we would cover the cost as long as it could be done fairly cheaply,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve found ways to get it done in the neighborhood of $150 to $200, sometimes less, depending on the situation.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EHe typically uses three components to create a standing desk: a platform for the monitor, a lower platform for the keyboard (using stacks of paper to make finer height adjustments) and, last but not least, an anti-fatigue mat.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EDuncan strives to ensure that users\u2019 eyes hit about 25 to 33 percent down from the top of the monitor screen, and that their arms form a 90 degree angle when using the keyboard.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EHe also tells people: Prepare to hurt. \u201cIt normally takes about two to three weeks to break your body into this new setup,\u201d he said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003ENot every standing desk adopter adapts. Duncan estimates that about half the people in the department who started standing have kept at it.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EBut he agrees with experts that it\u2019s not as much about standing continuously as it is moving regularly. He stands for some tasks and sits for others. \u201cDoing anything for eight hours, whether it\u2019s standing or sitting, is going to grate on you after a while.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EEvery year, one of the most popular New Year\u2019s resolutions is to get healthier. If you\u2019ve set this goal for 2016, you may be able to work toward it without leaving your desk. How? By standing instead of sitting.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Every year, one of the most popular New Year\u2019s resolutions is to get healthier. If you\u2019ve set this goal for 2016, you may be able to work toward it without leaving your desk. How? By standing instead of sitting."}],"uid":"27469","created_gmt":"2016-01-19 11:29:13","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:20:27","author":"Kristen Bailey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-01-19T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2016-01-19T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"487591":{"id":"487591","type":"image","title":"Stephen DeWeerth at his standing desk","body":null,"created":"1453233601","gmt_created":"2016-01-19 20:00:01","changed":"1475895242","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:54:02","alt":"Stephen DeWeerth at his standing desk","file":{"fid":"204354","name":"16c10301-p1-001.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/16c10301-p1-001_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/16c10301-p1-001_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":696887,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/16c10301-p1-001_0.jpg?itok=zFDkPgx1"}},"487601":{"id":"487601","type":"image","title":"Stephen DeWeerth at his standing desk","body":null,"created":"1453233601","gmt_created":"2016-01-19 20:00:01","changed":"1475895242","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:54:02","alt":"Stephen DeWeerth at his standing desk","file":{"fid":"204355","name":"16c10301-p1-010.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/16c10301-p1-010_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/16c10301-p1-010_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":666395,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/16c10301-p1-010_0.jpg?itok=oIjMdSkX"}}},"media_ids":["487591","487601"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/communityhealth.gatech.edu\/","title":"Center for Community Health and Wellbeing"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"3423","name":"employees"},{"id":"398","name":"health"},{"id":"171583","name":"standing desk"},{"id":"4076","name":"wellness"},{"id":"4152","name":"whistle"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:margaret.tate@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EMargaret Tate\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}