As a society, we’re spending more time in front of screens than ever before. According to a 2017 survey conducted by Common Sense Media, people spend an average of nearly nine-and-a-half hours every day looking at various screens, including computers, smartphones, tablets, and televisions. Not surprisingly, this behavior has prompted a great deal of research into the effects of excess screen time on our bodies, minds, and overall health. Read on to learn about some of the physical effects associated with too much screen time (and what you can do to mitigate them).
Poorer sleep
Numerous studies have shown that the blue light emitted by screens plays a major role in disrupting your natural sleep cycle, particularly if you spend time looking at screens an hour or less before you go to bed (this is because our bodies are hardwired to become more alert when exposed to blue light). Consider this: Research conducted in 2014 by Harvard Medical School found that people who read an e-book on a light emitting device before bedtime felt less sleepy, took longer to fall asleep, had reduced melatonin secretion, and were less alert the next morning than people who read a printed book.
Eye strain and other vision problems
The blue light from our screens isn’t just interfering with our sleep, it’s also seriously impacting our eyesight. The fixed gaze we adopt when staring at screens has been linked to computer vision syndrome (CVS), which features symptoms like eye strain and ache, dry and itchy eyes, redness, and double or blurred vision. Experts are also increasingly concerned that too much screen time may cause permanent damage to the retina and may contribute to long-term vision problems like macular degeneration or the development of cataracts.
Back and neck pain
From bending over your computer all day, to slouching in front of your television in the evening, to hunching over your smartphone as you scroll through social media or respond to texts, there’s little doubt that screens affect our bodies as well as our eyes. For example, increasing smartphone use has led to the phenomenon of “text neck,” a repetitive stress injury that arises when you tilt your head down repeatedly, thus placing up to 50 pounds of additional pressure on your neck and spine.
Weight gain
Excess screen time—primarily televisions—has also been linked to weight gain and related issues. While this is because we are more likely to be inactive when spending time in front of a screen rather than anything to do with the specific properties of the screen itself, it still needs to be considered as a noteworthy health impact of screen time. Previous studies have shown that spending even two hours a day watching television—for comparison, the average American watches four hours of TV a day—can significantly increase an adult’s risk of weight gain, as well as diabetes and heart disease.
Anxiety, stress, and depression
When considering the impact that screens have on our health, it’s equally important to take note of the content those screens are displaying. A growing body of research is linking increased time on social media platforms, made possible by the constant connectedness that our smartphones offer, with higher rates of anxiety, stress, and depression. In addition, too much social media and/or screen time can also trigger higher social anxiety in real-world situations, almost as if having our relationships with others mediated through digital technology makes us forget how to interact with people in real life.
Brain restructuring
One of the fundamental consequences of excessive screen time—and currently the subject of a great deal of research—is that the matter that makes up your brain actually undergoes a restructuring process. In studies of people with digital device addiction, research has revealed significant gray matter atrophy in key areas of the brain. Essentially, this means that excessive screen time could be causing a loss of volume of the brain matter responsible for critical cognitive functions like organizing, planning, impulse control, and reward pathways. Currently, this research has only focused on individuals with a recognized screen addiction, but it’s certainly not a stretch to imagine that anyone who uses their devices heavily may experience similar consequences.
So, what can you do to counteract these effects?
The important thing to understand about the health effects described above is that they don’t have to be an inevitable consequence of screen time. By working to cultivate a healthy relationship with your smartphone, as well as with all the other screens in your life, you can help minimize the negative effects that screen time can have on your health and well-being. Even simple steps like limiting screen use before bed, establishing “no phone zones” in your home, and taking regular breaks during your workday to stretch and walk around can play a big role in keeping you healthy.