The Effect of Technology on your Health

Nowadays, technology is becoming more prevalent in everyone’s life, ranging from smartphones to electric cars. Depending on the amount of time you spend using technology each day, the lasting effects on your physical and mental health can vary. It is very common to overuse your technology today, causing more long-term effects on your body. The amount of physical and mental effects has increased in the past couple of years following the rapid increase in the use of technology in people’s daily life. 

Overusing technology will lead to negative physical health effects including vision loss, hearing problems, sleep deprivation, and neck strain. Due to staring at a screen for an extended amount of time, your eyes will begin to strain, resulting in blurred vision or dry eyes. To prevent eye strain, it is important to take breaks in between long periods of technology use by either getting up to do something in the meantime or looking at another object a couple of feet away for a few minutes. This will allow your eyes to receive a much-needed break. In addition, bluetooth technology is becoming more common among people, making hearing loss more inevitable. Since the sensitive hair in your inner ear can never grow back once it has been damaged, the overuse of headphone technology can greatly impact hearing capabilities in the future. To push off the loss of hearing to a far future, it is imperative to listen to sounds with your headphones on lower volume. 

Not only does overuse of technology lead to loss of hearing and eye strain, but it can cause a strain to your neck. Many people tend to look down when using their computer or phone instead of holding it at an eye-level, which would cause an unnecessary strain on the muscles in your neck and ruin your posture. It is important to raise your phone and computer to eye-level to cause a smaller amount of strain on your neck muscles and take breaks from time to time to exercise and fix your posture. 

Finally, sleep deprivation is another major issue that comes along with the overuse of technology. Most people today easily become addicted to their phones, as a result, wasting a lot of time instead of completing their work. Additionally, the white light that is produced from the screen disturbs the natural sleeping pattern at night, making it harder for you to fall asleep when using your phone. To prevent sleep loss, you should not use your phone late at night when it is time to sleep and keep your phone in a low light setting. Aside from physical health, technology can also have a large impact on users’ mental health. Relying on technology can lead to emotional issues such as anxiety and depression, and a sense of isolation. Extreme exposure to artificial light can alter people’s circadian rhythms, causing more mood and mental disorders. 

Although the world is advancing in conjunction with technology, learning how to take breaks from using it and finding alternatives will improve your mental and physical health in the long run. It is important to not depend on technology because your mental and physical health will suffer as a result. To continue using technology in moderation will allow you to get the most out of technology while remaining healthy and safe. 

References:

http://www.digitalresponsibility.org/health-and-technology

https://www.healthline.com/health/negative-effects-of-technology#sleep-health