Constantly staring at bright phone screens and absorbing barrages of bad news on social media is causing people's stress levels to spiral out of control, a doctor has claimed.
Dr Aditi Nerurkar said people are "killing their brains" with their mobile phone, as excessive use of such devices can contribute to increased stress, anxiety, and depression. She said creating digital boundaries with our phones is "essential for our mental health and well-being".
Appearing on a recent episode of Diary of a CEO, she told podcast host Steven Bartlett: "Get on your phone, make sure it's on high brightness and scroll through every social media platform, every news platform, watch graphic content, videos of horrible things happening in the world at midnight. And keep doing that off and on until 4 or 5am. Your cortisol spike usually happens around 6am. A cortisol spike is a natural thing that happens, it's part of your circadian rhythm, it's what prompts you to get up and out of bed. And of course make sure that you are checking your phone right away, right when you get up out of bed and continue scrolling."
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1. Avoid high brightness and late-night scrolling
Explaining how constant phone use can affect mental health, Dr Nerurkar explained "popcorn brain", a biological phenomenon caused by overstimulation from spending too much time online. She said: "When we were all cave people, there was a night watch person. That person would sit by the fire while the tribe would sleep and that person would scan for danger to keep the tribe safe.
"In modern times, we have all become that night watch person and we scroll incessantly when we feel a sense of stress because it is our Primal urge. It is the way our amygdala feels a sense of safety because we are scanning for danger. But we are no longer in a tribe, we're not cave people anymore. So what do we do? We scroll, that is how we are scanning for danger, especially when we are feeling stressed."
The amygdala is a small, almond-shaped structure inside of your brain that forms the core of a neural system for processing fearful and threatening stimuli. When it comes to your survival, your amygdala is extremely important, WalesOnline reports.
Dr Nerurkar added: "In recent times there's been a lot of bad news in fact it feels like the onslaught of bad news one thing after another, whether it's a climate disaster or a conflict in a certain part of the world or something or the other is always happening now. The information stream is rapid and unprecedented, and so we are constantly scrolling and scanning for danger."
2. Stop checking your phone so frequently
The doctor urged people to stop checking their phones immediately upon waking up and in the middle of the night. She warned that this is leading to increased stress and mobile phone dependency, and says decreasing your phone reliance and setting digital boundaries is better for your mental health.
"Most of us check our phones 2,600 times a day, that is a statistic… When you wake up, before your second eye is even open, you are scrolling. Studies show that 62% of people check their phones within 15 minutes of waking up and about 50% check them in the middle of the night. I'm guilty of this," she admitted.
To help, Dr Nerurkar recommends limiting your phone usage to 20 minutes a day, "and set a timer if you have to for engaging and consuming."
Consuming traumatic content on social media can lead to emotional distress, PTSD, and indirect trauma, especially for those working in journalism, Dr Nerurkar says. She explained: "Graphic images and videos on your phone can increase your risk of PTSD and mental health conditions, as it triggers the fight or flight response and can lead to indirect trauma."
She went on: "Studies that your risk of PTSD increases when you consume graphic images, even if that thing that you're consuming is happening thousands of miles away, like any conflict, any climate disaster, anything. If you start consuming graphic images and videos you, increase your risk of PTSD, even though you have not had any direct trauma because it's indirect trauma that you're seeing.
"And so it's a cycle. The more videos you consume or the more graphic content you consume, your amygdala gets fired up, your Primal urge to scroll starts going haywire, and then you scroll some more, and then you scroll some more, because you don't feel safe. This is a common occurrence."
3. Consuming traumatic content can 'harm your brain'
Consuming traumatic content on social media can lead to emotional distress, PTSD, and indirect trauma, especially for those working in journalism, Dr Nerurkar said. She explained: "Graphic images and videos on your phone can increase your risk of PTSD and mental health conditions, as it triggers the fight or flight response and can lead to indirect trauma.
"Studies that your risk of PTSD increases when you consume graphic images, even if that thing that you're consuming is happening thousands of miles away, like any conflict, any climate disaster, anything. If you start consuming graphic images and videos you, increase your risk of PTSD, even though you have not had any direct trauma because it's indirect trauma that you're seeing.
"And so it's a cycle. The more videos you consume or the more graphic content you consume, your amygdala gets fired up, your Primal urge to scroll starts going haywire, and then you scroll some more, and then you scroll some more, because you don't feel safe. This is a common occurrence."