It’s perhaps not surprising that a report by the Global Wellness Institute (GWI) has revealed technology has a substantial impact on our wellness.
Wellness in the Age of the Smartphone, published by the GWI’s Digital Wellness Initiative, found technology significantly impacts sleep, obesity, mental health, relationships, personal safety and workplace productivity.
The report revealed that up to 60 per cent of adults experience sleep problems. Blue-light emitting screens on digital devices, which mimic natural sunlight, may be responsible – keeping us feeling more alert and suppressing the release of sleep hormones.
Smartphones may only be a decade old, but they’re having an increasingly profound impact on human life, claims the report. The authors, who are leaders in medicine, hospitality, economics and technology, examine mounting research on the negative impact of technology – something spas are well placed to help with. Many are already offering digital detox days, weeks and weekends, a trend that looks set to grow.
According to the report there are rising rates of depression and anxiety in the UK. “The cause is not clear but the rise seem to coincide with the growth of social media,” it says. A third of teenage women report symptoms and, in extreme cases, teens who spend five or more hours a day online are 71 per cent more likely to have at least one suicide risk factor. And these were just the most extreme users; anything over three hours a day was linked to an increased risk.
The researchers called for an increase in digital mindfulness, to help bring greater awareness to technology use, and a celebration – and cultivation – of our “non-digital humanity”, remembering what it means to be a human without technology. Food for thought…
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