There’s no denying we’ve all spent a lot more time on our phones this year.
Whether it’s to check for important news updates or to kill time on TikTok during lockdown – our screen time has most definitely increased over the past few months.
Whilst our phones have been providing some comfort during a stressful and anxiety-fuelled year, it’s important to be aware of the negative impact screen time is having on our health.
New research has already shown ‘Zoom fatigue’ to be a real phenomenon due to the fact our bodies take longer to recover from the amount of screen time we’ve been indulging in.
But the extra time on our devices has a knock-on effect on different areas of the body – from eyesight deterioration to posture problems.
These are the different ways screen time is affecting our bodies…
How screen time affects your skin
Did you know that your phone could be making your skin age faster?
Dr Toni Phillips, group clinical director at DestinationSkin, tells Metro.co.uk: ’Blue light is emitted from smartphones, computers and TV screens and overexposure to this can cause premature wrinkles and pigmentation.
‘You can help reduce this by remembering to use a moisturiser with SPF and also removing the blue light from screens.’
We also forget how dirty our phones can get – we take them everywhere with us, after all. For this very season they can be a hotspot for germs.
Dr Toni adds: ‘We’re also likely to be harbouring bacteria on our phones, so remember to clean these regularly to prevent them building up on your skin, as this can cause spots and blocked pores.’
How screen time affects your posture
Another cause for concern is the fact that our phone habits are changing the shape of our bodies.
Most of us slouch or hunch over our phone so we are closer to the screen, which is having an impact on our posture.
Andrew Doody an osteopath at The Fleet Street Clinic says: ‘ Sitting slouched in a comfy chair, tends to compress your thorax. This can prevent full movement of your ribcage while breathing and compress your diaphragm, which leads to more shallow, laboured breathing, which in turn can cause fatigue.’
Andrew explains that ‘text neck’ is a thing now and can cause neck and upper back pain and in some cases lead to a rounded upper back – also known as a hunch back.
He says: ‘This posture is also common when hunching over a keyboard. It is often connected to having a tight chest and weak upper back.
‘Try to imagine a piece of string connecting the top of your head to the ceiling and get into the posture as though this string is being pulled up, that should help straighten your back and lengthen your neck, correcting your posture.’
How screen time affects your weight
It’s simple really, the more time we are sat on our phones the less time we are moving around. So more screen time means an increased chance of gaining weight.
Doctor Giuseppe Aragona, GP and medical advisor at Prescription Doctor, says: ‘As little as two-three hours of screen time a day can increase the risk of weight gain, diabetes, and heart disease in adults.
‘This is because when we are watching a screen or using a phone, we are adopting a sedentary lifestyle which can lead us to become inactive and lazy, it can also affect our sleep and cause us to eat more which further increases the likelihood of weight gain.’
How screen time affects your sleep
Dr Giuseppe adds that too much screen time, with smartphones and computers, is likely to increase sleeping issues.
‘This is because the blue light which is emitted from digital devices suppresses melatonin which is the sleep promoting hormone meaning that it keeps us from having a restful night’s sleep,’ says Dr Giuseppe.
This lack of sleep can contribute to a plethora of health problems further down the line.
Chronic sleep deprivation may promote more serious issues such as high blood pressure, heart attacks, heart failure and strokes or lead to depression, obesity, low immunity and sex drive.
How screen time affects the brain
Dr Giuseppe explains that being on our phones so much can promote addiction and reward seeking. This is because the feel-good hormone dopamine is released when we feel pleasure or experience reward.
He says: ‘Screen time affects the frontal cortex of the brain, which worryingly is similar to the effect of taking cocaine. Like drugs, screen time sets off a reward cycle that can become addictive and the more you go on your screen, the more you become addicted to the instant gratification and feeling of pleasure.’
As a result, this can give you a warped sense of what feels good and increase the chances of becoming addicted. The long-term effects of this could be addiction and obsession, irritability and mental health issues such as depression and anxiety.
How screen time affects your eyes
‘With lockdown, we are all spending far longer on our screens than our eyes are used to and as a result optometrists are finding there is an increase in tech-related eye strain,’ says Dr Clare O’Donnell, optometrist and head of eye sciences research at Optegra.com.
‘Symptoms can be a twitching eye or sensitivity to light, dry eyes and also headaches. These all suggest tired, strained eyes.’
A good way around this is by following the 20-20-20 rule, which refers to looking at something at least 20 feet away from your screen for 20 seconds every 20 minutes.
She adds: ‘Digital eye strain can have a significant impact on both our visual comfort and even our productivity.’
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