19 November 2013
Research suggests 8 out of 10 people don’t breathe properly when they are typing, known as 'email apnoea', which could be increasing ill health at work.
Email could be damaging your health, it is claimed.
Research suggests eight out of 10 people don’t breathe properly when they are typing. The majority of computer users hold their breath while concentrating on tasks like writing emails – a bad habit which might be increasing ill health in the work environment.
The issue has been named ‘email apnoea’ by former Apple executive Linda Stone, who believes our body goes into fight or flight mode while typing. Apnoea is a sudden pause in breathing and is usually associated with sleeping. Holding your breath or shallow breathing can cause:
One of the likely symptoms of email apnoea is feeling lightheaded or dizzy.
Linda claims regularly holding our breath while we work in the office is putting our body and mind under unnecessary stress and believes it can affect both staff wellbeing and staff productivity.
Research carried out at the US National Institute of Health (NIH) claims breath holding upsets the balance of oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitric oxide in the body. This can undermine the immune system, making workers more likely to catch viruses and other illnesses and it can cause memory problems, difficulty sleeping and possibly even depression.
So what can we do to avoid email apnoea affecting our health?