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Saturday, June 02, 2018

Constant Interruptions From Smartphone Can Impact Brain Chemistry, Scientists Say

Constant interruptions from alerts and messages on your smartphone can impact brain chemistry.

It can be hard to concentrate when you’re always being diverted by your phone. It’s a pattern that scientists say creates something they call the switch cost.

Research shows constant interruptions can create a different chemistry in the brain.

“There’s this phenomenon they call 'switch cost' that when there’s an interruption we switch away from the task that we were at and then we have to come on back. We think it interrupts our efficiency with our brains, by about 40 percent. Our nose is always getting off the grindstone, then we have to reorient ourselves,” said Dr. Scott Bea, a psychologist at Cleveland Clinic.

The new reality for many is that technology has put the brain on high alert most of the time, waiting for the next notification. Doctors say when it happens, people can get little surges of the stress hormone cortisol, which can cause the heart rate to jump, some people to get sweaty hands and muscles can get a little tight.

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's why I took my battery out of my smart phone, now no interruptions.

Anonymous said...

Has anyone ever figured out what causes the addiction?

Anonymous said...

I use a little trick called "self control" which allows me to place values on the task at hand, the human I'm interacting with at the time, and a stupid phone call or message I can hear or read later.

It's an amazing concept that nobody else knows about.

SSSHHHHHH! Don't tell!