In the last decade or two screens have become an unavoidable part of modern life, and nowhere is that more true than in an office environment. Many office workers will spend six and a half hours a day planted firmly in front of a computer, according to research by Acuvue. This amounts to two whole months per year spent staring into the glow of a screen.

With lockdown and Covid restrictions in place, screen use has increased even more. Whether you’re working from home, doing an online exercise class, catching up with friends and family via Zoom or watching the latest must-see Netflix show, you might find you’re rarely away from a screen.

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So what effect is this having on our health and how can we reduced our screen time.

how much screen time is too much
(Thinkstock/PA)

Effects of too much screen time

1. Headaches

More than a third of the 2,000 office workers in the study said too much screen time gives them headaches.

In fact, computer-related headaches have become so common that the American Optometric Association have defined a condition known as computer vision syndrome. The symptoms may be familiar to you. Eye strain, blurred vision, neck and shoulder pain, and headaches are among the most common.

These symptoms were reported by between 64% and 90% of computer users in a 2011 study by Mark Rosenfield at State University of New York. Headaches can be combated by taking short but frequent breaks from your screen, roughly every twenty minutes.

2. Loss of sleep

Shot of a sleepy young woman using a laptop late at night while lying on her bed in her bedroom

The human body clock is called the circadian rhythm and it dictates a large number of our body functions, including sleep. In years past, the biological clock would use darkness to determine when the body should prepare for sleep. But with the dawn of artificial lighting (particularly blue light emanating from smartphones and computers), this is now far less effective.

Research conducted by the Harvard University medical school concluded that people should aim to stop looking at screens around two hours before going to bed. This will allow the brain to secrete more melatonin – the hormone which regulates sleep.

3. Dry eyes

In the study by Acuvue, 48% reported symptoms of eye dryness or tired eyes as the result of prolonged computer usage. People tend to blink less when working on a computer or tablet, depriving the eyes of the moisture they need to stay healthy.

Katie McGeechan of Johnson & Johnson Vision said:  “Computers are a relatively new concept. For millions now, staring at a screen all day is the norm.

“However if you look back just a few decades, far fewer of us would have spent the day looking into the same glowing rectangle. And when you add mobile phones into the mix, we’re putting our eyes through a lot every day.”

4. Addiction

Cropped shot of a woman using a smartphone

Research conducted by Millward Brown found that globally, a 16-45 year old person will typically spend nearly seven hours a day looking at screens. The largest amount of time is spent on mobile devices – around 147 minutes. It is hardly surprising then, that smartphone addiction is becoming a rising concern, particularly among younger people.

A study conducted in 2014 titled The Extended iSelf found that, when separated from their iPhones, a group of American university students were less successful at cognitive tasks.

Feelings of anxiety akin to withdrawal symptoms were reported. This suggests that, for some people, prolonged use of screens can lead to an unhealthy dependence on them in order to function at peak performance.

5. Bad moods

Although there is not yet a direct link between low mood and screen usage, recent research has suggested there is a relationship.

A 2017 study by K. C. Madhav surveyed 3201 American adults, and found that moderate or severe levels of depression were associated with participants who spent over 6 hours per day watching television or using a computer.

While more research is needed to determine the exact effects of screen time on mood, experts have long-heralded the positive effects of nature and the outdoors on people’s wellbeing.

Of course, the sad truth is not all of us can work in the sun every day, but making an effort to get some fresh air and time away from your screen when possible seems like a wise decision.

6. Early death

A study has shed a worrying light on the pernicious effect all of this excess screen time might be having on our health. According to researchers from the University of Glasgow, people who spend a lot of time watching TV have a higher risk of death from heart disease and cancer.

The study analysed the amount of time 390,089 people spent looking at TV and computer screens during their free time. It found that those who sit in front of screens instead of being active are more likely to die earlier because of their lifestyle.

The study discovered a strong association between leisure screen time and adverse health outcomes. It revealed that the risk of cancer and heart disease was almost twice as strong in those with low fitness levels or low grip strength. But it was much smaller in those who regularly worked out.

This isn’t the first time that experts have questioned the negative effect of personal technology on our health. Previous studies have also found that staring at screens can damage your eyesight, negatively affect your emotions and subtly increase your stress levels. The bottom line is: we should all probably spend less time glued to them.

How to reduce your screen time

1. Monitor how much time you spend in front of a screen

How much times do you think you check your phone per day? 10 minutes? 15 minutes? 20 minutes?

The reality is actually more frightening.

The average person checks their phone 200 times a day, a 2014 Tecmark study found. That’s once every 6 and a half minutes.

Spend a full day monitoring just how many hours you spend looking at your TV, computer and phone. Chances are you are spending way more time in front of a screen than you actually realise.

Once you calculate how much time you’re digitally dependent, drilled down to a sobering ‘hours and minutes’ figure, you’ll likely be motivated to regain a better balance.

2. Go screen-free an hour before bed

Avoid too much screen time

Studies have found that evening screen time can mess with our internal body clocks and sabotage sleep. Why? Because the blue light that screens give off inhibits our production of melatonin, the hormone that makes you feel sleepy at night.

If you’re struggling to switch off, the hour before bed is the perfect time to ignore your tablet and phone. Plug them in to charge in a different part of the house and make your bedroom a screen-free zone.

Use the time to get stuck into a good book, sketch, write or even just lie back and meditate. If you rely on your phone to wake you up in the morning, invest in an alarm clock too so you’re not tempted to scroll during the night.

3. Make use of the Do Not Disturb feature on your smartphone

How many times have you been distracted from a work deadline by your phone lighting up with push notifications from Facebook, WhatsApp and the dozens of other apps you’ve downloaded? All smartphones have a feature that can silence pesky pop ups, but very few of us make use of it.

Switching on the feature prevents notifications, alerts and calls from making any noise, vibrating or lighting up the phone screen when the screen is locked. Now next time you really need to focus, your phone won’t break your concentration.

4. Tell your friends you’re cutting back

Young woman using a laptop on the sofa at home having Zoom meeting

One of the major reasons why people stay glued to their phone is to keep up with the incoming barrage of messages from friends and family on apps like WhatsApp. There’s nothing worse than putting your phone on mute for an hour and coming back to a mass of, “Where are you?” and “Why are you ignoring me?” texts.

Warn your friends and family that you’re making a conscious effort to only check your phone at certain times of the day. Explain that you won’t be available at all times to reply to their messages, and sign out of any non-important group chats. They’ll soon get used to not expecting an immediate reply from you.

5. Make Saturdays your tech-free day

Do you usually spend your weekends lying on the sofa, watching films or football? Reclaim the hours by making Saturday a day where you ban all technology. Avoid the TV, leave your phone in a drawer and make the most of your day.

You could go for a long drive, start a new hobby, visit an art gallery or simply go for a walk. Going tech-free, for just one day a week, is an achievable way to sever your dependency. Habitual rituals are easier to stick to.

Before you know it, you may find that you can introduce the ban on other days of the week too.

6. Don’t eat at your desk

Eating lunch at your desk seems like a good idea when you’re busy at work, but it means you’re going hours at a time without a decent break from your computer.

Studies have found that slogging away at your desk is actually detrimental to creative thinking, and could be making you less productive during the rest of the day. So when 1pm hits, power down, pick up your bag and get outside in the sunshine. Both your body and mind will thank you for it.

7. Limit yourself to two scrolls on Instagram or Facebook per day

If you’re the type of person that often finds themselves reflexively scrolling through apps like Instagram, without even realising it, it’s time to start putting a few ground rules into place. All social media is designed to keep us coming back, and the endless scroll feature on Instagram and Facebook is no exception.

If you don’t want to delete the app altogether, simply give yourself limited times to access it. One scroll in the morning and one in the evening is enough to catch up on the posts you might have missed. Instagram’s algorithm works by showing you the people you most interact with first. This will help cut out the huge time suck it has on the rest of your day.

Struggling to stick to it? Use an app that blocks the apps you don’t want to use at certain times of the day.

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