Screen Apnea - What is it and what to do?
Screen apnea - what is it and what to do?
Have you ever heard of screen apnea? It comes from the English “screen apnea” and is increasingly common. The term “apnea” means voluntary or involuntary interruption of airflow to the lungs. Screen apnea is the interruption of breathing while you are in front of a screen, and according to several studies, you are doing it right now! 80% of people hold their breath or breathe poorly when sitting in front of their monitor. Screen apnea prevents you from breathing properly, which can cause exhaustion, anxiety and a host of other stress-related illnesses and even impair professional performance.
Most people spend an average of ten hours a day sitting, whether in a car, on the couch or in front of a screen. And the human body was not designed to be in that inactive position for these long periods of time. Doing so can reduce life expectancy, as increases by 85% the risk of dying from cardiovascular diseases. Adding to that the consequences of screen apnea, it is a worrying scenario.
In 2007, Linda Stone, an American writer and consultant, noticed that as soon as she started working on her laptop she would start to breathe little or hold her breath. As she began to pay attention over the next few days, she realized that it was a recurring situation. However, as soon as she stood up and moved a little, her breathing became completely different.
During a period of seven months of observation, Stone tested about 200 people in his dining room, using a device that measures pulse and heart rate variability. As she did her research, she spoke with scholars, clinicians, psychologists and neuroscientists to better understand what happens to our physiology when we hold our breath. At the end of her study, Linda Stone named this phenomenon email apnea or screen apnea - temporary interruption of breathing or shallow breathing when in front of screens.
This study gave rise to several researches on the subject, which confirmed what Stone had concluded: about 80% of people suffer from screen apnea and the remaining 20% who do not have the same symptoms are individuals who, at some point in their lives, learned breathing techniques, as is the case with musicians, dancers, pilots or high-performance athletes.
There are some tips to reduce the impact of screen apnea and here are some of them:
1- Pay attention to the breath
2- Avoid sitting for many hours in a row
3 - Do physical exercise
4 - Having a chair with a back - the more comfortable the better
5 - Taking frequent breaks
6 - Avoid using your cell phone or other screen during these breaks
The ideal is to take several breaks during the day and exercise. And to improve your exercise experience, we have a key accessory in store: headphones and earphones at low prices. Visit our Headphones page and choose yours now.
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