You’ve probably heard of Sleep Apnea — the condition that causes people to stop breathing in their sleep — but have you heard of screen apnea? You may not even realize you’re doing it!
Microsoft executive Linda Stone realized she was doing it in 2007, and coined the term “Email Apnea.” Since then, we have significantly increased our screen time and Novant Health Physician Dr. Russ Greenfield says this phenomenon extends to device usage including virtual meetings.
Stone tracked the breathing of over 200 study participants and found that 80% of screen users altered their breath or altered their breathing in some manner.
Stephen Porges, a professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, says that screen apnea is a manifestation of our body’s stress response when deciphering stimuli. This can leave the body in a chronic state of threat which disrupts and deregulates our sleep cycles which leaves us feeling anxious and exhausted.
There are a few solutions, one being to sigh deeply which causes the body to reset your breathing cycle. Another may be to regulate your screen time. There are many reasons that screens may impact your well being so if your boss asks you why you never responded to their email……. you can just tell them it’s bad for your health!
(P.S. Take a deep breath, RIGHT NOW)
