Building the case for Email Apnea
Hopefully advances in medical technology and knowledge will offset the problems associated with advances in computer and communications technologies. But the first question, is “email apnea” an actual medical condition?
Breath-holding and hyperventilating disturb our body’s balance of oxygen, CO2, and NO. Nitric oxide, not to be confused with the nitrous oxide used in dental offices, plays an important role in our health. From a briefing document prepared for the Royal Society and Association of British Science Writers, Pearce Wright explains, “The immune system uses nitric oxide in fighting viral, bacterial and parasitic infections, and tumors. Nitric oxide transmits messages between nerve cells and is associated with the processes of learning, memory, sleeping, feeling pain, and, probably, depression. It is a mediator in inflammation and rheumatism.”
Certainly serious, but doesn’t breath-holding and hyperventilating seem like something that would more be associated with writing blog posts to tight deadlines late at night, and of course checking web stats?!
Email apnea is a term I made up to describe something that I first noticed I was doing, then noticed, after interviewing and observing roughly 200 people over 6 months, that MANY people were doing it. “It” being, temporary cessation of breath or shallow breathing while doing email. Dictionary.com defines apnea as absence or temporary cessation of breath in a variety of contexts, e.g., infant, sleep, etc. Seemed to also fit with what was happening with email. The beauty of noticing something like this is that it highlights that technology is neutral and that what we do with it is up to us. The BEST possible thing we can do is just notice, are we breathing or not, and then, if we need to, breathe. We can study some particular breathing practice that helps — martial arts, Buteyko, pranayama, Andy Weil’s…. AND, we can pay attention to our posture — which is big contributor to breathing optimally.