We’ve got a fairly new condition to worry about — screen apnea.
You’ve no doubt heard about sleep apnea, a condition that causes your breathing to repeatedly start and stop while you’re asleep. Sleep apnea, which deprives your body of oxygen, can cause poor sleep and daytime sleepiness.
But what is screen apnea? It’s when you hold your breath or breathe shallowly while you’re staring at a digital screen, such as one on a laptop, tablet or smartphone. It’s also known as email apnea or Zoom apnea, according to health care provider Novant Health.
Here, we dive into the phenomenon of screen apnea.
What causes screen apnea?
In an interview with The New York Times, Stephen Porges, a professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, explained that screen apnea is triggered by our body’s response to stress.
When we’re faced with any sort of stimuli, our nervous system hunts for signals to figure whether there’s a threat, Porges said. This mental effort prompts “a chain of physiological changes” like shallower breathing and a slower heart rate, The Times reported.
Writer, speaker and consultant Lisa Stone, a former Microsoft executive, began digging into this issue in 2007.
“I noticed, almost immediately, that once I started to work on email, I was either shallow breathing or holding my breath. I paid attention and noticed that, day after day, this was the case,” Stone wrote on her website. “When I would get up and walk around, my breathing was completely different than it was when I was working on my computer.”
Stone says she spent seven months observing and chatting with others to investigate what she eventually dubbed screen apnea or email apnea. She even tested friends using a device that tracks pulse and heart rates. She also picked the brains of researchers, clinicians, psychologists and neuroscientists.
Stone’s unscientific study found that 80% of the people she had observed and tested had email apnea.
So, what are the consequences of screen apnea?
Forbes explains that chronically holding your breath can harm your health, cause exhaustion and hurt your work performance. In addition, Forbes says, holding your breath “throws the nervous system into flight-or-flight mode, contributing to stress-related illnesses like heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer.”
How to combat screen apnea
Now that you know what screen apnea, how can you fight it? Here are eight suggestions.
1. Be aware.
Stone says that the next time you look something up on your smartphone or respond to a text or email, you should pay attention to whether you’re holding your breath.
2. Improve your posture.
Chairs that are designed with ergonomics in mind can aid your breathing while you’re sitting.
3. Don’t sit for too long.
Take regular breaks from digital screens by getting up from a seated position and walking around for five to 10 minutes.
4. Breathe.
Novant Health recommends setting aside a few moments several times during the day to take some deep slow breaths. “This will oxygenate your body and enhance your energy,” says Novant. “You can literally feel better in 15 seconds by doing this.”
5. Go outdoors.
A little fresh air and sunlight can boost your mood and reduce anxiety, Novant says.
6. Practice yoga.
Novant emphasizes that breath work is a key component of yoga.
7, Sing.
Singing can teach proper breathing techniques and improve lung capacity, Stone says.
8. Dance.
Stone praises dancing as a “terrific exercise” that can benefit your posture and breathing.
Novant Health emphasizes that paying “just a little more attention to your body, your screen habits and your breathing can improve your life, safeguard your health and keep your resilience strong.”
Featured Products
