Consider that our bodies were not evolved to use toilet paper, and that hemorrhoids are virtually unheard of in third-world countries that lack TP.
(I haven't confirmed that latter claim. It's just something I read once, somewhere.)
Anyone who's been sick and had to go to the loo multiple times in a row will notice how painful it becomes. I'm not sure it would be painful if washing was used rather than rubbing.
My comment here is full of assumptions and wildly unsupported by evidence. But I thought it might be best to post it so that it can swiftly be disproven or shown to have a grain of truth.
The topic is gross, but it's a serious issue that you don't think much about until suddenly you have to.
I think the ideas that hemorrhoids are not prevalent in third-world countries, not using toilet paper for cleanup and that using a western-style commode (and not squatting) is the source of problems is probably incorrect.
I base this on observations on the large numbers of advertisements for hemorrhoid treatment (most magazines, billboards, etc) in India, the fact that most people in India use water for cleanup and on the fact that squatting-type toilets are in common use in India. Again, just observation...
It takes me less time to pass a number 2, than to go number 1. It is not loose, but it is soft and just ... blooop, done. When it's like modeling clay - not getting enough fiber! :-D
Since you're the one bringing this this time up I'll throw this out there: fiber is the source of as many problems as solutions. The idea that high fiber diets are appropriate for everyone is not supported by the science, and there are tons of places where reducing fiber is tremendously beneficial. Look into the FODMAP diet, for one obvious example.
I've read that the culprit is not toilet paper, but the face that we sit when we shit, while we ostensibly evolved to squat. So the bowels don't straighten out as they should, and the excessive pushing leads to pressure which gradually causes blood vessels to bulge over time.
Well, yeah, if I rub any other place on my skin with toilet paper sufficiently long enough, it starts to hurt. I don't see a reason why it should be different down there.
Instead of trying to create a fancy standing/sitting desk workflow, I've personally tried to just take more breaks throughout the day. Unless the weather's terrible, even a brief five minute walk does wonders.
It's also a great way to get some alone time and mull over what you're working on without distraction. Just as when I was a student studying mathematics and doing a bit of research, I've found that with programming sometimes a greater clarity of thought is achieved when you have nothing but your mind -- no pencil, no paper, no computer, nothing to write on, nothing to doodle on. It forces you to consider only ideas that you can fully manage in your head.
I think most jobs benefits from this, not just office work. A short time away from work, quick walk does wonders for your mental health. Some people smoke because that gives them the excuse to get outside for a few minutes now and then :-)
That's very true, but when you think about it, it's kind of strange that you need an excuse in the form of a cigarette in order to refresh your mind. People somehow seem to think that a cigarette break is OK since the person is "doing something" but if the same person just takes a walk it might be perceived as slacking.
I think a solution for this is alternating between standing and sitting desk with the recommended time interval being 20 min sitting, 8 min standing and 2 min just generally moving around.
Instead of buying a transitioning desk I just hooked 3 monitors to my desktop where 2 are sitting and 1 (lg 2560px) is standing and created a small delphi app that switches the monitor for me every 30 mins. So far it has done some good for my back but i feel that doing this sort of circus destroys my focus. Still health is over everything so I'm sticking with it.
I just have a standing desk with an extra high drafter-style chair, and everything carefully adjusted so that the keyboard and monitor work for both sitting and standing.
I wanted to do this recently but I couldn't find a chair tall enough. I need the seat to be at around 95cm (37.4") otherwise my elbows are too low. The tallest chair I could find was 90cm (35.4").
It's a very common formula recommended by a lot of physiotherapists. It's just a recommendation because the time I started it, I had a rather severe backache. I'm sure 60m is fine too if your back allows it. It depends on every individual i guess.
I know almost nothing about medicine, but my guess is that the issue is that staying in one place all day is the issue, not whether you’re sitting or standing.
Minor quibble, but halogen-lit offices? Who is sitting under halogen lamps all day? Most office lights are LED these days or maybe fluorescent if they're older.
Leds can flicker even worse than flourescent. Test it with your mobile camera, shove it up to the lights real close and see if it starts showing banding all over the screen. The calmest light you get is halogen or a normal lightbulb of the burning rust type.
The solution is to have DC powered lighting circuits so you don't have terrible $0.50 AC/DC power supplies in every bulb. It'd be nice to have DC circuits for electronics, too, but that's probably a lost cause.
You can see many (cheaper) leds flicker out of the corner of your eye. Especially led strips. This drives me nuts around xmas, when streets are decorated with cheap, flickering leds.
> If you’re the sweaty biker type, cycling to work[...] "By cramming that hard bike seat into your perineum [you may make hemorrhoids worse and impact urine flow.]"
Though I can't stand the writing style, sitting while cycling is a real problem, especially if you're male. I bike year round here in Toronto, about 200 kms a week for most of the year, and I didn't know. It took almost a year for the ED to go away once I committed to standing while cycling 100% of the time. I was only in my late twenties when it happened and I figured it was something only old men get. I'm super happy I happened to come across a paper that talked about it.
The side benefit is that it made my arms huge and I've got real abs now.
If you get numbness or ED from cycling, you need a better saddle! Don't just "suck it up", you need to find a saddle that puts your weight on your ischial tuberosities or "sit bones", not your soft squishy perineum.
Soft wide saddles are actually worse for this. You need a relatively narrow saddle, with a deep cutout in the middle.
And you need to have it adjusted right, so you end up sitting correctly. And if course you should slightly vary your position over the course of a ride.
A good bike shop will be able to find you the perfect saddle and fit.
I've found pooping with your feet on your tippy toes like a ballerina also does the trick (while still sitting down of course) to achieve the elevation of your legs to be in more of a squat position when pooping.
If you ever go to China and have to squat to poop, that's also a good catalyst to finding the right squat position to best suit you.
Although that's certainly better than nothing, it's really not the full deal at all. Even the squatty-potty which is way beyond just tip-toes is only about half-squatting. I've compared and the full squat is the real deal.
People who want to do it (even in prep for a China trip) better work on simply spending time squatting in general. Apparently, westerners with sit-toilets actually lose the flexibility to do a relaxed, flat-footed squat at all.
Readit News
Consider that our bodies were not evolved to use toilet paper, and that hemorrhoids are virtually unheard of in third-world countries that lack TP.
(I haven't confirmed that latter claim. It's just something I read once, somewhere.)
Anyone who's been sick and had to go to the loo multiple times in a row will notice how painful it becomes. I'm not sure it would be painful if washing was used rather than rubbing.
My comment here is full of assumptions and wildly unsupported by evidence. But I thought it might be best to post it so that it can swiftly be disproven or shown to have a grain of truth.
The topic is gross, but it's a serious issue that you don't think much about until suddenly you have to.
I base this on observations on the large numbers of advertisements for hemorrhoid treatment (most magazines, billboards, etc) in India, the fact that most people in India use water for cleanup and on the fact that squatting-type toilets are in common use in India. Again, just observation...
Most likely it's just physiology and diet.
https://www.nadialabs.com/pages/how-to-use-the-toilet-correc...
It takes me less time to pass a number 2, than to go number 1. It is not loose, but it is soft and just ... blooop, done. When it's like modeling clay - not getting enough fiber! :-D
Also, baby wipes work for adults too.
Genuinely curious, are there any studies that have shown that?
It's also a great way to get some alone time and mull over what you're working on without distraction. Just as when I was a student studying mathematics and doing a bit of research, I've found that with programming sometimes a greater clarity of thought is achieved when you have nothing but your mind -- no pencil, no paper, no computer, nothing to write on, nothing to doodle on. It forces you to consider only ideas that you can fully manage in your head.
Instead of buying a transitioning desk I just hooked 3 monitors to my desktop where 2 are sitting and 1 (lg 2560px) is standing and created a small delphi app that switches the monitor for me every 30 mins. So far it has done some good for my back but i feel that doing this sort of circus destroys my focus. Still health is over everything so I'm sticking with it.
working on your butt all day is also horrible for your health
it’s as if ... some middle-ground moderation-like situation might be optimal ... my god who would have guessed
A quick google brings this up. It seems to me that being alive is the leading cause of death.
Deleted Comment
Though I can't stand the writing style, sitting while cycling is a real problem, especially if you're male. I bike year round here in Toronto, about 200 kms a week for most of the year, and I didn't know. It took almost a year for the ED to go away once I committed to standing while cycling 100% of the time. I was only in my late twenties when it happened and I figured it was something only old men get. I'm super happy I happened to come across a paper that talked about it.
The side benefit is that it made my arms huge and I've got real abs now.
Soft wide saddles are actually worse for this. You need a relatively narrow saddle, with a deep cutout in the middle.
And you need to have it adjusted right, so you end up sitting correctly. And if course you should slightly vary your position over the course of a ride.
A good bike shop will be able to find you the perfect saddle and fit.
I feel like the road runner sometimes.
Beep beep.
(A) a cheap, DIY standing desk arrangement
(B) a cheap "stability cushion" to stand on so I'm neither standing totally still nor doing some repetitive exercise-machine
(C) squatty-potty (off-brand, DIY options are fine, lilypad or nature's platform style for better real-deal)
I've found pooping with your feet on your tippy toes like a ballerina also does the trick (while still sitting down of course) to achieve the elevation of your legs to be in more of a squat position when pooping.
If you ever go to China and have to squat to poop, that's also a good catalyst to finding the right squat position to best suit you.
People who want to do it (even in prep for a China trip) better work on simply spending time squatting in general. Apparently, westerners with sit-toilets actually lose the flexibility to do a relaxed, flat-footed squat at all.