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Impact of COVID-19: Screen fatigue & Mental illness

Updated: Apr 5, 2021

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A lot has been talked about depression and mental illness by social media and the internet. The culture has radically changed post-pandemic as more underlying mental health issues are coming to light. Millennials are exposed to the new digital territory compromising their preferences and choices. Millennials, unlike the native internet GenZ have a different set of behaviours, work ethics and thought patterns. Since Millennials are assets and major consumers they have been trying hard and forced to keep up with the evolving digital culture. An Excess amount of stress is inevitably noted among students, bank employees, software professionals and teachers as these groups are also exposed to new technology and gadgets.



Although there are multiple proven studies on the effect of social media on mental health there are several impacts on physical health due to a year in isolation. This can manifest as both mental fatigue and physical fatigue manifested as musculoskeletal pain at the neck, shoulder, arms, the back. More and more people in the coronavirus era are suffering from a phenomenon known as 'Zoom fatigue’ . Zoom, video conferencing and webinars have triggered a new set of health issues like anxiety, screen fatigue, body image, poor concentration, depression, stress, online gaming addiction etc. disturbed sleep, recurrent headache and vertigo. Excessive blue-light exposure can suppress the release of melatonin, the hormone that helps set our sleep-wake cycle, which can in turn disrupt our sleep patterns, thus exacerbating eye strain. It may sound trivial, but the energy required to keep the momentum going in a virtual space filled with distractions, tech fails and lagging can leave us feeling drained, without the benefit of being able to vibe off each other as we would IRL (In real life). As the world is going through this transition there is a need for a holistic approach to coping with the effects of screen fatigue. But there are ways to minimize screen fatigue, aside from just flat out reducing your screen usage (you wish). I recommend the best Yoga For Your Eyes: Natural Vision Improvement Exercises and Holistic 21st Century eye care to combat any eye health issues. 1. Make Your Text Bigger

2. Go outdoors

3. Follow the 20:20:20 rule

Every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. This relaxes the focusing muscle inside the eye 4. Eye Yoga

5. Blue light glasses

6. Seek a therapist for discussion


Takeaway


In this era, we cannot live without gadgets and screens. According to experts the screen time will only get higher post pandemic. Professionals and students must incorporate eye care and mental wellness practices to keep up to the demanding cultural and digital change . For more information on how to incorporate them into a healthy lifestyle, book a consultation Today!




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