Walking on the job can relieve stress.

Nathan Edelson, director of Environments for Health in Missoula, MT, is an inventor who believes that adjustable furniture doesn't solve all the physical and psychological problems of the computer terminal operator. He said that the major factor affecting physical and psychological health is chronic stress.

"Face it," Edelson said, "these jobs aren't going to get more interesting. Let's give these people a work environment where they can enjoy themselves." So he invented the Walking Desk, the Stairobic Desk (shown) and the Edelson Laptop Computing Wedge.

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The walking desk concept goes beyond providing, on a typical workday, four to five miles of walking exercise on the electric treadmill or on the adjustable, hydraulically controlled foot pedals of the Stairobic model. In addition to the computer video display terminal, a secondary color television screen and a video cassette player is available for "viewing relaxation and mental stimulation to replace the sensory deprivation cocoon atmosphere of the typical office cubicle," Edelson said.

"It is crucial for an office worker to exercise and work at the same time, because only if this is done simultaneously, when job stresses are experienced, will it be possible for the worker to use the exercise to release tension that would otherwise be bottled up inside, leading to health complaints," Edelson said.