How to deal with the pressure of smart phones in our daily life?

November 21, 2019 / BIOON/ --In the past decade, smart phones have gradually become an indispensable part of our daily life We spend an average of four hours on smart phones every day More and more studies show that smart phones can interfere with our sleep, work efficiency, mental health and impulse control Even if there is a smart phone in hand, it will reduce our available recognition Knowing ability But recent research shows that we should pay more attention to the fact that smart phones may shorten the life span of the body by increasing the level of cortisol, one of the main stress hormones in the body Photo source: choosehelp.com stress hormone When the body is under threat, cortisol is often mistaken as the main "war or flight" hormone (in fact, adrenaline is playing a role) to promote the body to take action The body will produce cortisol under pressure, but its role is to promote the body to maintain a high level of vigilance by increasing blood sugar level and inhibiting the immune system The production of cortisol is very useful for the health of the body when dealing with the direct physical threats that are solved rapidly However, when we face the continuous emotional pressure, the long-term high cortisol will cause a variety of health problems, including diabetes, obesity, hypertension and depression, including heart disease and stroke As well as dementia, the risk of multiple diseases will also increase, leading to premature death of individuals Although many people say it's more stressful than before, there's no study to determine how smartphones can improve cortisol levels in the body in a day Recent studies have shown that the frequent use of smart phones is more strongly related to the body's cortisol wake-up response The natural peak of cortisol usually occurs about 30 minutes after we wake up, which can prepare us for the needs of the day Too high or too low arousal response is related to poor physical and mental health, but the use of smart phones does not affect the natural rise and fall mode of cortisol in the rest of the day In addition, there is no research showing that there is a relationship between the use of smart phones and the chronic rise of cortisol level in the body However, people still report the problem of digital stress and information and communication overload The first thing at night or after waking up is to check the work email, which may lead to stress in the body and may interfere with the natural rhythm of cortisol (let alone sleep) Social media can also bring pressure, make us feel trapped by social networks, expose us to conflicts and online bullying, or promote social comparison and "social control" Although we are aware of these stressors, due to the addictive design of social media, we often suffer from the impact of dopamine in the body, which means that every time we find ourselves free, we will have an impulse to check our subscriptions and notifications, and more than half of people under the age of 35 often check their mobile phones when they go to the toilet Some tips to deal with the pressure of smart phones are not as simple as quitting them suddenly Quitting related to abnormal state will also increase the level of cortisol in the body We should aim at digital nutrition instead of digital detoxification like juice detoxification In other words, keep a healthier relationship with our smartphones, in which we will pay more attention to and deliberately treat the things we consume in the digital world, so that we can maximize the benefits they bring and minimize the pressure they bring to our lives Photo source: truththeory.com here are some health tips for using smart phones: 1 Use Apple's "screen time", Android's actiondash or the moment app to check how often you use your phone and which apps take up most of your time; 2 In addition to the most important application notifications (such as private information), turn off all other notifications, so that you can re control the time when you watch your phone, and you can also turn off the "push" or "get new data" option in the smartphone email at a specific time of the day This way, the email will only appear when you open the email application and refresh it, which will help extend the battery life of the phone; 4 Take some time to complete the digital collation, including unfocusing people / pages and unsubscribing from email lists, which can cause you to feel pressure or make you useless Remember, you can unfocuse friends on Facebook without unfriendling them; 5 Create a non-technical area in the room, such as the kitchen table or bedroom The method of "out of sight and out of mind" will help to avoid the pressure of smart phones creeping into your downtime; 6 Set a digital curfew to support better restorative sleep, and do not put the phone beside the bed The first thing in the morning is not to pick up your cell phone, but to start the day with a short meditation, some exercise, or a slow breakfast; 7 Pay attention to and be curious about the frequency of answering your phone during the day, don't bombard your brain with information, and use this time to do a short breathing exercise to clean up your brain Reference: [1] top 5 stats to know about us mobile usage [2] starting the workday yet already completed? Consequences of late-night smartphone use and sleep 【3】 Smartphone addiction， daily interruptions and self-reported productivity 【4】 Problematic smartphone use： A conceptual overview and systematic review of relations with anxiety and depression psychopathology
【5】Henry H Wilmer，Jason M Chein Mobile technology habits： patterns of association among device usage， intertemporal preference， impulse control， and reward sensitivity ， Psychonomic Bulletin & Review ， 15 March 2016， doi：10.3758/s13423-016-1011-z 【6】 Brain Drain： The Mere Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity 【7】 Psychological Stress and the Human Immune System： A Meta-Analytic Study of 30 Years of Inquiry 【8】 WIRED： The impact of media and technology use on stress (cortisol) and inflammation (interleukin IL-6) in fast paced families 【9】 The cortisol awakening response (CAR)： Facts and future directions 【10】 Digital Stress over the Life Span： The Effects of Communication Load and Internet Multitasking on Perceived Stress and Psychological Health Impairments in a German Probability Sample 【11】Ji-Won Chun，Jihye Choi，Hyun Cho， et al Role of Frontostriatal Connectivity in Adolescents With Excessive Smartphone Use ， Front Psychiatry 2018 Sep 12 doi： 10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00437 【12】 How to deal with smartphone stress by Brad Ridout， The Conversation