The
Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP; a healthcare society)
recently reported that working on smartphones/tablets even while
commuting or after getting back home has made people “screen
slaves.” “Hand-held devices are increasingly making people work
beyond office, with nearly two-thirds of the people continuing to
work outside office hours on their handheld devices at an average of
extra 2 hours every day, apart from 6 and 1/2 hours of regular office
time”– reported the study findings of CSP. Interestingly, if we
add the leisure time or travel time (for some over 4-5 hours) we are
glued to smartphones/tablets apart from work, we would realise that
the 'screen indeed rules our lives today.' Somebody rightly said, “We
don't own our phone; rather, the phone owns us.”
Research
shows that as people struggle to concentrate on small screens and
little fonts on smartphones/mobiles/tablets, they blink less
(especially on subways, metros, or buses), leading to eye strain,
headache, dry eyes, red sore eyes, and blurred vision apart from
irritation. Further, most people have postural problems while looking
down at these hand-held devices for a long time, especially when they
do so while traveling and beyond the workplace. Most people using
these devices outside their workplace are not maintaining the posture
compared to that at a workplace, which causes strain in the neck and
shoulders, apart from causing pain (Turtle Neck Syndrome). Somebody
remarked in a lighter vein, “When people first started using
mobiles/smartphones, they thought it was pain-in-the-neck, for it
made them accessible 24x7, but they never knew that it would actually
cause a pain in the neck.”
“Postural
problems are the leading health risk of hand-held devices, even when
used at workplace, as fewer than 25% users were seen to take care or
think about their posture while working in front of screens at their
workplace/office,” the CSP research findings reported. Further,
findings showed that regularly working extra in the evenings puts one
at an increased risk of back and neck pain, along with stress-related
illness. “People need to learn to talk to managers about excessive
workload and learn to discipline themselves by switching off their
smartphones after office to cut down the screen-time,” commented
the chairwoman of the CSP, Dr Helena Johnson.
Interestingly,
earlier in 2009 too, The Canadian Physiotherapy Association issued a
similar advice and warned that extended use of touchscreen devices
(smartphones/tablets) in awkward positions could lead to stiffness,
and muscle/joint pain.
Also,
smartphones/mobiles were linked to stress and behavioural problems
(predominantly irritation) in 16% users in a study done in the
University of Staffordshire. Another study showed that blood pressure
became lower in those who had given up using mobiles/smartphones or
cut down its use, indicative of its stress-inducing potential.
Further, prolonged exposure to hand-held devices for stressed out
work schedules as shown globally also adds to mental stress, leading
to mental problems like anxiety and depression.
Therefore,
stay tuned with us and keep striving towards a perfect state of good
health, physically, mentally, and socially. We would do our best to
empower you in doing so. Good day!
1.
To ward off eye risks of smartphones/tablets, it is recommended not
to hold them close. Increase the font size, and give eyes rest by
taking regular and frequent in-between short breaks and gazing into
distance for a couple of minutes.
2.
Bending the head down should be avoided while using these gadgets for
a long time. A few minutes of rest should be given every hour or two,
with the neck and shoulders straightened/stretched during the rest
period. Also, regular physical activity with yoga sessions would take
care of strained back and neck.
3.
While individuals need to be made aware, employers should also help
their staff by counselling on better working habits, doing yoga
postures or physical activity at gyms, and make them aware of the
importance of maintaining good posture on-screen.
Environmentalists
claim that smartphones/mobiles are damaging our environment and
consequently our health. But, to forsake them is beyond the scope of
the present article. In fact, other studies across the globe also
suggest mobile screens to be transmitting viral infections through
our fingertips. Moreover, smartphones/ mobiles have also been
implicated in destroying our focus and creating stress in most people
as they obsessively kept checking their menu screen, news, e-mail,
and apps regularly in spite of no new information coming. Further,
radiations from mobiles/smartphones have been linked to brain
tumour/cancer, sleep disturbances, and infertility in men who keep
cell phones in their trouser pocket. We would undoubtedly like to
ponder over these health risks caused by smartphones and other
hand-held devices in one of our future issues.
Therefore,
stay tuned with us and keep striving towards a perfect state of good
health, physically, mentally, and socially. We would do our best to
empower you in doing so. Good day!
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