How Does Technology Cause Stress?

I see stress from technology everyday. Someone getting frustrated when the internet is to slow, someone else getting angry when their email can't send, even people who stay up late on their computer and are grumpy the next day. 

Doctor David Volpi, wrote an article for Huffpost Healthy Living to explain how technology can be linked to stress, depression and fatigue in young adults. 

Volpi states that the light from screens is a major player in why technology causes stress. He says that affects melatonin production and throws off circadian rhythms, which prevents good sleep. 

Doctoral student Sara Thomée  at the University of Gothenburg's Sahlgrenska Academy did research which backed up Volpi's fact. Thomée and her team asked 4,100 young adults between age 20 and 24 to fill out questionnaires, in addition to interviewing 32 people in the same age range that were believed to spend a lot of time using their computer or cell phone.

Quoted below are some of the results from Thomée's research: 

• "Heavy cell phone use showed an increase in sleep disorders in men and an increase in depressive symptoms in both men and women.
•  Those constantly accessible via cell phones were the most likely to report mental health issues.
• Men who use computers intensively were more likely to develop sleeping problems.
• Regular, late night computer use was associated with sleep disorders, stress and depressive symptoms in both men and women.
• Frequently using a computer without breaks further increases the risk of stress, sleeping problems and depressive symptoms in women.
•  A combination of both heavy computer use and heavy mobile use makes the associations even stronger."

Therefore, as technology becomes more prevalent in our society (especially among youth and young adults) people accumulate more screen time. As people spend more time behind a screen, their amount or quality of sleep greatly decreases. And lack of sleep is easily one of the things that is most likely to cause stress. 

So what can we do about this? There is a simple answer: Spend less time behind a screen. Go outside or read a book! More specifically however, don't let your technology get in the way of sleep. Hit the power button early, plug in your phone across the room, and don't let them distract you from getting a good nights rest. 

Volpi, David, M.D., "Heavy Technology Use Linked to Fatigue, Stress and Depression in Young Adults." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 02 Aug. 2012. Web. 09 May 2013. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-volpi-md-pc-facs/technology-depression_b_1723625.html>.