CARE FOR YOU " MOBILE SCREEN TIME AND YOUR HEALTH"

Is your screen time affecting your health?

As helpful as it is, technology can take a physical toll on our bodies. But you don’t need to suffer. Here are five ways you can beat gadget-induced aches, pains and other niggles

1. Sore back and stiff neck

"Dropping your head to look down at your smartphone or tablet places strain on the muscles of the neck and upper back, which can become stiff and sore," explains osteopath Nick Cowan. Instead of struggling to hold your device at eye level, which will probably make your arm ache, he suggests holding the phone at half an arm’s length away and using your eyes to look down, rather than tilting your head completely. "Try to use hand-held mobile devices little and often, rather than for long stretches."  

2. Dry eyes

On average, we Brits spend 11 hours a day looking at screens. That’s 77.32 hours a week*! And while we concentrate on emailing, reading and watching TV, our blink rate is reduced by a third, which can leave us with dry and tired eyes that are prone to infection. Protect your eyes by aiming to blink every two to 10 seconds, or 15 to 30 times a minute, while you’re in front of a screen. It seems like a lot but after a little practise, it should become a subconscious habit.

3. Disturbed sleep 

"Visual and audio stimulation from TVs, games' consoles and computers disturbs our ability to settle into an optimal sleep state and means we don’t get proper rest, which is vital to restore our bodies and brains," says Nick. Electronic devices stimulate our brains and supress the release of the sleep-promotion hormone melatonin. To counteract this double disturbance, he recommends turning off all electronic devices an hour before bedtime and keeping them out of your bedroom. And the same applies to your children. A survey by the US National Sleep Foundation found that teens who slept with devices in their bedrooms slept for half an hour less on a school night than teens who slept without devices in their bedrooms.

4. Stress 

Although technology has undoubtedly made our lives easier in many ways, it’s also made them more stressful. From a beeping smartphone letting you know a new text message or email has arrived to a pop-up on your computer screen alerting you to an update on Facebook, electronic devices constantly demand our attention, overloading our brains and increasing our stress levels. The good news is that 'techno-stress', as it’s been dubbed, can be eased by taking back control. "To fight techno-stress we must learn to be the driver and not be driven by technology," recommend authors Michelle Weil and Larry Rosen. So switch off your alerts, put your phone on silent when you need to focus, and aim to spend at least one hour a day with friends or family without using any electronic devices. 

5. Poor posture

Sitting in front of a computer screen for long periods is a likely to lead to slouching. "In a seated position, our core muscles largely switch off and become weaker, compressing the joints in our lower back and causing our upper back and neck to become rounded," explains Nick. Avoid hunching at your desk by ensuring your lower back is well supported by a chair or cushion and the screen you’re looking at is in line with your eye level. "If you’re using a laptop or tablet and you aren’t on the move, protect your spine by turning your device into a desktop by raising the screen onto a platform and attaching a separate keyboard so you can sit upright in front of it," suggests Nick.