Do you use smartphones,computers or tablets for long hours?

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Department of General Medicine

Mobile phone overuse is a dependence syndrome seen in certain mobile phone users. Increased use can also lead to increased time on mobile communication .Over-use of mobile phones can affect social and psychological well-being and health.

Eye Problems 

Reading small fonts on a smartphone can damage  the vision permanently.This happens as your eyes are strained constantly by looking at the blue light from the smartphone. The blue light emitted by smartphones is supposed to be damaging to the eyes and can lead to insomnia

What You Can Do ?

Always remember to take a break from computer or smart phone every 20 min and look somewhere distant for 20 seconds to 5 minutes, before resuming work. For every 20 minutes you stare at a screen, take a 20-second break and look at any point 20 feet away from you.

Hearing Problems

Overuse of headphones can impair your hearing. Repeated exposure to noises above 85 decibels can cause permanent hearing loss. ( Normal talks happens at about 65 decibels). Listening to music at maximum volume (105 decibels) for more than 4 minutes can result in impaired hearing.

What You Can Do ?

Turn down the volume. Buy good quality of headphones. If you listen to music while commuting, get noise-canceling headphones.

Disturbed Sleep

The blue-violet light from smartphone screens can cause havoc on sleep patterns . When you use smart phone, this blue light is very close to your face and signals stops to produce melatonin (the sleep hormone) in the body.

What You Can Do ?

Refrain from using smartphones 1 hour before bedtime. Charge your phone in the other room at night. Use an alarm clock to check the time instead of phone. There are some mobile shields available that block the blue light during the night.

Neck Pain

Long term use of smartphones causes neck pain. When head is placed upright, there is no stress on the neck. To read and text on smartphones, people bend their necks up to 60 degrees. This increases the pressure on the neck.

What You Can Do ?

Bring up the phone to the level of eyes and look straight into it. Lower your eyes instead of bending your neck.

Wrist Problems

Excessive texting in phone causes overuse of tendons in the arms leading to inflammation, pain and numbness in fingers and wrist. It also causes tingling or numbness in the ring and little finger.

What You Can Do ?

Keep changing the posture of the phone when performing tasks like reading. You can put down the smartphone while lying on the bed or in the lap while sitting  and look down at it instead of always holding it in your hands.

Psychological Problems

70% people check their phones in the morning within 1 hour of getting up. 56% check their phones before going to bed. Many people feel a enforcement to respond to texts, emails or other alerts as soon as they arrive. The fear of parting from phone is called nomophobia. In this type, you may get physically affected if you cannot find your phone.

What You Can Do ?

Engage in real conversations with colleagues and friends. Set aside specific time replying mails, chatting and checking social media platforms. Control yourself from checking your phone too often.

Reference :

• Smartphone Overuse Can Harm Your Back, Hand & Neck ; Article from Singapore Health. Original title: "The (real) price of a smart device". By: Thava Rani.
• Health problems caused by Smartphones overuse ;From Windows Hub.
• 6 Health Dangers of Smartphone Overuse ; From Active Beat By: Jeff Hayward.
• Health Risks of Using Mobile Phones ; By Darice Britt.
• Why smartphones are making you ill; The Telegraph ; By Olivia Goldhill.