I first heard about e-mail apnea some time ago from Dr Ben Lynch ND and I had the immediate realisation: I had it!
I bet you know the situation…
You are so focused while working at your screen or going through your long list of unread emails or you get the notification of an incoming email and get hooked up by it. Maybe you immediately get to answer that email or working on your task….and you are holding your breath through all this!
Does it ever happen to you? Or didn’t you ever even notice? Tell me by leaving a message below!
Email apnea was first described by former Microsoft researcher Linda Stone, as “a temporary absence or suspension of breathing, or shallow breathing, while doing email” [1].
By holding your breath, or breathing in a shallow way, you are:
altering the balance of three gases involved in the respiratory system: Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide, Nitric Oxide
activating the sympathetic nervous system (the fight or flight response).
What does it mean?
Your body’s biochemical balance is thrown off. The balance of Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide influences the blood pH (and might affect the blood pressure in some people through the work of the kidneys) [2], and Nitric Oxide (produced in our sinuses during nose breathing) is involved, among others, with our immune system and our blood vessels’ dilation [3].
Going in fight or flight mode, your body is preparing for an intense physical exertion, such as running away from a tiger, by turning down the digestive system and the immune system, while increasing heart rate, blood pressure and blood flow to the muscles, the heart and other vital organs, and releasing storage glucose and fat to supply the body with energy….
All of this happens…and you are only reading an email!
Here some tips!
- what you can do about email apnea
The first step is awareness.
Start being mindful about it and next time you set to read an email, pay attention to your breath, inhaling through your nose, exhaling through your mouth. Then, do it again before starting reacting to it…
Take regular breaks and get up from your desk.
Also, if you are not doing that naturally, learn how to breathe through your nose.
NB Overbreathing is also a common problem-causing habit!
Please, share your experiences in the comments below! I would love to hear from you!
References
[2] https://www.kalw.org/post/breathing-your-way-better-blood-pressure#stream/0
[3] Nitric oxide—Important messenger in human body, Martina Antosova , Jana Plevkova, Anna Strapkova, Tomas Buday Open Journal of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, 2012, 2, 98-106 OJMIP
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