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The ticking clock and furious patter of computer keys are staples in offices around the world. Regardless of specific business, offices share many similarities. One such similarity is a sedentary culture and studies show all that sitting is taking a major toll on employee health.
Click Here to see the Complete List of Ways Sitting is Shortening Your Life
Another reason the smoking analogy is relevant is that studies have repeatedly shown the effects of long-term sitting are not reversible through exercise or other good habits. Sitting, like smoking, is very clearly bad for our health and the only way to minimize the risk is to limit the time we spend on our butts each day. If you need a bit more encouragement, take a look at all of the ways sitting is killing you…and then scour Pinterest to make your own standing desk.
– Diana Gerstacker, The Active Times
Does this mean that they are going to remove all the chairs from the Bais Medrash? About 50 years ago everyone smoked inside, then the yeshiva prohibited it so guys would go outside to smoke and waste time. I don’t think you could learn for hours on end standing.
I stand all day at my job while it is probably healthier than sitting all the time i am mostly standing in one place so i don’t get to move around much that’s why i just joined a gym.
Abba, the studies don’t say to never sit. They recommend getting up every hour or so and not sit for hours on end
Lesschumrus: Could you imagine every hour on the hour all the students in the whole yeshiva get up walk around the classroom once and switch seats. I don’t think teachers will be able to control the class nor the students learn this way. The only way this will happen is if Yeshiva mandates it and I think it’s just a waste of time.
Nobody said anything about switching seats. Why do you need to add extra things that don’t make sense to make it sound like a bad idea?
If your kids are in a school where getting up to stretch every hour (!) would throw off the discipline then there’s aLOT more than this study for you to worry about.
The convention of having students sit in seats with desks might not be as important as we think it is.
Has anybody tried standing desks or a treadmill/desk combo? Can any computer work get done while “walking”?
And going back in time weren’t shtenders used for standing while learning? Was it more common to sit or stand?
Mod -29 I was trying to make like musical chairs. Which child has a better learning experience the one who has a 3 hour class and then has a 15 minute break or the one who has a 5 minute break every hour? When you have a break it takes time until you get back into learning limiting the amount that can be taught. If you forced the student to stand they would not be paying attention to the teacher.
As far as having a treadmill desk combo with courtesy busing being cut and student having 2-3 miles to yeshiva each way each day and on top you want them to be on a treadmill the whole day. Maybe they should be singing How many miles must a poor talmid walk before he goes off the derech ??? The answer my friend is blowing in the wind the answer is blowing in the wind.( Moderator -29 this is a joke).I can’t wait for the first kid to go to the ACLU and claim it’s Cruel & Unusual Punishment.
You can make the whole classroom more flexible so students are allowed switch between sitting and standing whenever they want to.
Abba S: Sorry for not clarifying, but I wasn’t talking about students when I asked about treadmill/desk combos, just your average white collar/office job.
And the shtender question is more historical, but basically applicable to anyone learning Torah. I wasn’t davka thinking of kids, but I wouldn’t be surprised if kids that can’t sit still actually preferred it, at least for part of the day. The same can probably be said for many adults that spend extended hours over their Gemara.
Even for someone sitting at his office desk all day and attending a shiur in the morning or evening, it may be preferable and keep him more alert. It’s just a thought and I’m throwing it out there for anyone with experience to chime in.
Reb Yidd As the student switch from sitting to standing the students are going to lose concentration. Standing wouldn’t be good enough they will want to move around and before you know it a few will be wandering the halls causing all types of mischief.
Every school should have a gym like mine does. When I get bored in class to the point of dozing off, I can just go downstairs, run on the treadmill for a bit (usually less than a bit, but still better than nothing) and I’m alert and energized for class again. Yachol that I miss out on a precious few minutes of class; talmud lomar that I wouldn’t have been cognitively present in class anyhow if I would be sleeping for half an hour or more.
Moving around is healthier. And students won’t be wandering the halls unless there is an incentive. You can integrate walking around with the lesson, too.
Abba_S – your description of what school should be is jarring. Baruch Hashem I don’t know know many classrooms where the children can’t work nicely at their desks while standing if need be. Anyone who thinks letting a child stretch their legs will turn to mischief in the hallways should find another job.
they had a great video on this on asap science where it tells you this.
I haven’t been in a classroom for over 50 years except for parent teacher meetings,( I am not in the education profession) but I can still remember the time when a teacher was out of the classroom for a few minutes and one student ran outside and brought a dog and hid it under the teachers desk. When the teacher moved the chair to sit down the dog ran out. Until order was restored it was over an hour.
Maybe students changed since I went to school, but I think if given the chance the average student and similarly the average worker would goof off. Which is why most students are taught in a school environment as opposed to independent study and likewise workers are closely monitored.
I will admit in theory it could work but in real life it wouldn’t. If you think it’s a good idea speak to your school administrators see what they think not someone in the coffee room. Start out with one class see how it works and the expend to a whole grade. It may work depending on how dedicated the students are.
Students only goof off if they have an incentive to goof off. You have to be sneaky and make goofing off uncool. Offer them a better classroom experience than the one they’d give themselves.
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