Constant availability: chronic stress
When we’re in front of a screen, we often forget about our body. We breathe shallowly and tense our muscles. And this can have serious consequences. We’ve put together some tips on how to redress the physical balance.
Most of us are guilty of having a never-ending to-do list. Instead of mindlessly scrolling through social media at the bus stop to alleviate boredom, some people want to use their time as efficiently as possible. One email less! A task delegated! A message checked! And so it goes on, hour after hour, day in day out. At home. At work. After the cinema. Before breakfast. Many of us are more connected than ever, but this takes its toll on our body. From a neurobiological perspective, we need breaks. Our body has waking times and sleeping times. It needs tension and relaxation. We need to consciously take time out. Spend time in nature. We need to feel connected with our bodies.
Being available around the clock is harmful to health
Too much screen time can have serious consequences for your health, your body and your mind. Studies show, for example, that many people hold their breath when they are reading emails. This is known as email apnea. We also tense up, breathe shallowly and can spend hours a day staring at the screen without moving much. This not only results in postural problems, but also triggers a flight-or-fight response in our body. In the past, when our body reacted with shallow breathing, a fixed gaze and tense muscles, it was responding to danger. It helped us flee from enemies or be better prepared to attack prey.
So, if we spend a lot of time in front of a PC with tensed muscles and breathing shallowly, our body releases stress hormones. And if we’re still in bed reading depressing news stories at 11 o’clock at night, the content signals to us that danger is imminent.
This is because our brain is made up of different areas. The oldest part is the brain stem, which is responsible for processing our primary emotions such as anger, fear and desire, i.e. our “primitive” reflexes. Our brain stem works just as it did thousands of years ago, no matter how digital or modern our lives are today. When a red button flashes or we see that we have 450 new mails in our inbox, our body reacts just as it did back then in the wild when we were confronted with a dangerous animal: with fear.
Smartphone-induced chronic stress
Our system therefore triggers the release of adrenalin and cortisol – stress hormones that are designed to spur us into action. In the past, this was essential for survival and happened every few days. Today we activate the same mechanisms each time we get an email – practically non-stop. This leads to stress hormones being constantly released but often not sufficiently reduced, which in turn results in a prolonged and constant feeling of stress.
When we have non-stop digital stimulation and don’t take time-out to re-establish our hormone balance and general well-being, it’s no surprise that people are constantly stressed and tired, have difficulty sleeping, suffer from problems with their digestion or experience physical pain.
Six tips to balance our digital lives
The more digital your everyday life is, the more you need to ensure you achieve a physical balance. The following tips will help you do something good for your health.