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By Dr. KHOOBSURAT NAJMA

EYE PROBLEMS

• Reading small fonts on a smartphone can damage your vision permanently.
• This happens as your eyes are strained constantly by looking at the blue light from smartphone.

What you can do

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 hearing
• Repeated exposure to noises above 85 decibels can cause permanent hearing loss. ( Normal conversation happens at about 65 decibels)
• Listening to music at maximum volume (105 decibels) for more than four minutes can result in impaired hearing.

What you can do

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

DISTURBED SLEEP

• The blue-violet light from smartphone screens can create havoc on your sleep patterns
• When you use your phone, this blue light is very close to your face and signals the body to stop producing melatonin (the sleep hormone)

What you can do

Refrain from using smartphones one hour before bedtime. Charge your phone in the other room at night. Use an alarm clock to check the time instead of your 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 (Text neck).
• When head is placed upright, there is no stress on the neck. To read and text on smartphones, people tend to 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 your eyes and look straight into it. Lower your eyes instead of bending your neck.

WRIST PROBLEMS

• Excessive texting causes overuse of tendons in the arms leading to inflammation, pain and numbness in fingers and wrist (Carpel tunnel syndrome).
• Cellphone elbow results from bending at the elbow for long periods of time. It causes tingling or numbness in the ring and little finger.

What you can do

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

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS

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

What you can do

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