People Who Spend All Day On Screens Risk These 3 Serious Brain Changes Over Time
Mikoto | Pexels Scroll, swipe, click, search: these actions produce dopamine “hits” in our over-screened, somewhat compromised brains. We feel "happy" when we’re on our screens, and anxious when we stop for a break. The hyper-stimulation of our brains’ pleasure and reward circuits results in cravings for more, as what feels good about the dopamine surge fades rapidly to anxiety — the sign of an overstimulated reward system.
In fact, the U.S. earned the title of the Most Overworked Developed Nation in The World, and our brains run to keep up with the demanding pace and expectations. Seemingly generous phrases like “Take as much time off as you need” are coupled with qualifiers such as “Just be sure you get your projects done on time.” There’s already way too much screen time at work, but when we’re home, the work continues as we remain plugged in.
Some in corporate management have taken it on themselves to be the “parents” of their over-screened employee children. San Francisco start-up, Front App, has an incentive for its employees. They pay employees $200 for reducing their screen time to less than 14 hours a week, or an average of two hours a day.
Employees who reduce their screen time tend to be more present and focused, make more efficient use of their strategic thinking and problem-solving skills, and become more engaged in teamwork. It’s easy to be in denial about the brain changes in people who spend all day on screens, but it's critical to be aware of how constant screen exposure can take a real toll.
People who spend all day on screens risk these 3 serious brain changes over time:
1. Loss of volume in gray matter
As we spend more time Googling, YouTubing, doom-scrolling, shopping, and gaming, our important frontal lobe, which, as explained by Victoria L. Dunckley, M.D., "governs executive functions such as planning, prioritizing, organizing, and impulse control."
Another finding "of particular concern," she continues, "was damage to an area known as the insula, which is involved in our capacity to develop empathy and compassion for others and our ability to integrate physical signals with emotion." Essentially, “I’m really mad about what you did,” gets replaced with, “You're really irritating me!"
2. Loss of integrity in white matter
cottonbro studio / Pexels
As reported by CNN, the results of one study "showed that children who used more than the AAP's recommended amount of screen time, of an hour a day without parental interaction, had more disorganized, underdeveloped white matter throughout the brain."
Dunckley further states that "spotty" white matter "translates into loss of communication within the brain, including connections to and from various lobes of the same hemisphere, links between the right and left hemispheres, and paths between higher (cognitive) and lower (emotional and survival) brain centers."
You may think you have a migraine when you don’t. You may perceive high heat from a merely warm surface. The messaging becomes erratic, delayed, and/or inaccurate.
3. Frontal lobe damage
This part of the brain undergoes massive changes from puberty until our mid-twenties. Its awesome duty is to determine success in virtually every area of life, including our sense of personal satisfaction in relation to our school, work, and relationship skills. Even minor damage from too much screen time may add up over time, resulting in bigger problems that land on a slippery slope of decline once we reach the age of about 45 to 50.
So how can you take back leadership over your own well-being, specifically over the well-being of your over-screen timed brain? And how can you maintain interest in making such a big lifestyle change when other attempts at creating healthy habits — like giving up sugar, alcohol, or getting back to the gym — have failed?
The answer to reversing the negative effects resulting from screen time is listening to music. Listen attentively, and listen daily. Chances are you're already listening to music in some ways. You just have to tweak a few details to generate its helpfulness for your brain.
The brain's relationship with music takes little effort. Music is a primal form of communication, so we naturally respond and react to it. Through music, emotion is expressed, stories are told, and trust, empathy, and compassion are inspired. As we listen again and again, these features become more deeply retained. Our neuronal pathways etch music’s meaning, physical and emotional feelings, and memory. Listening to music adds more glue with each play.
By contrast, these gains are lost through too much screen time and other non-verbal cues our brain receives in the online world. Give yourself a daily dose of dedicated music-listening without any simultaneous multitasking. In case you need a parenting incentive to continue, here’s another fact to consider: your kids are concerned about you and how much screen time you're getting!
In 2018, the Pew Research Center published the findings of a survey in which 51% of teens between the ages of 13 and 17 said they "often or sometimes find their parent or caregiver to be distracted by their own cellphone when they are trying to have a conversation with them."
The message here is louder than the screaming fans at a Beyoncé concert: Be proactive! Start helping your over-screened brain now. It will help improve every aspect of your life, including your family interactions.
The good news is that you don’t need to spend money on a trainer, and you already have the equipment and ability you need. Music is likely already part of your daily lifestyle. We often hear of people dropping their fitness routines. Ever hear of someone dropping their music habit? Carve out a piece of each day to listen to music without any other distractions in order to help your brain and the rest of the whole you — physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Paula-Jo Husack is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, Life & Performance Enhancement Coach, EMDR-certified Trauma Therapist, and Founder of LeadLifeNow workshops.
