Have you ever wondered why after spending a long time working with e-mail, you feel stressed and tired? Why do you feel more restless than before, and even when you pause, it doesn't get any better?
It's all about the condition that psychologists most often call email apnea. This phenomenon is more often associated with sleep, but can also be caused by simple work with a computer. It is characterized by shallow breathing or holding your breath while working with e-mail, social networks or playing computer games.
Email apnea occurs for a number of reasons. Firstly, our posture deteriorates sharply in those moments when we are absorbed in working at the computer or looking at the phone, which jeopardizes our ability to fully inhale and exhale.
Secondly, after several hours spent in front of the screen, our eyes get tired and tensed, which further disturbs normal relaxed breathing. Finally, when we enthusiastically work through e-mail and perform other tasks on the computer, we lose awareness. We are so obsessed with texts, emails and messages on social networks that we don’t even notice changes in our breathing, and this can be dangerous to our health.
So, how can you interrupt this daily source of stress and anxiety? Here are three great ways.
Keep breathing
This seems obvious at first glance, and yet the main cause of email apnea is respiratory failure. Our breathing becomes short, intermittent and moves upward from the abdomen to the chest. If you are able to notice this shift in breathing, you can quickly normalize yourself.
All we need to do is start breathing more deeply into the stomach, sitting at the computer or using your phone. Try it now. As you read the remainder of this article, direct a small portion of your attention, say, 10 percent, to feeling your stomach expand as you inhale and contract as you exhale.
Take breaks
Email apnea is a condition caused by continuous fixation on the screen. Thus, one of the most powerful drugs is to take short breaks from time to time. Get up from the table, straighten your back and move.
All you have to do is give your mind and body a little time to experience a more natural state of relaxation. To do this, it may be useful to set a timer each time you sit down at a computer. You can even schedule these breaks on your calendar if you forget.
Relax your eyes
Studies by office workers show that many of us experience computer vision syndrome. The hours we spend looking at the monitor screen lead to a number of problems, including eye strain, headaches, eye cramps, as well as tension in the neck, back and shoulders. Excessive eye strain is also one of the main causes of respiratory depression during apnea.
To start relaxing your eyes, it is sometimes useful to look away from the screen. Look out the window and let your eyes relax. Try to get away from the screen whenever possible at least every two hours.
Conclusion
These tips may seem ineffective.But think about how much creative and productive energy you lose every day because of the exciting email apnea. Think about what it would be like to end a long day spent in front of a computer, feeling rested and relaxed, rather than exhausted, excited and scattered.
Perform these simple exercises at least a couple of times a day, and you will see that by the end of the working day you will feel a little better.