Smart phones are a big part of our daily lives, and that could be causing health problems.
We found these 4 ways they could be hurting your health from Yahoo! Health.
1. It's destroying your ability to focus. For many of you -- you don't own your phone, it owns you. Researchers in Finland found that most people obsessively check their menu screen, news, e-mail, and apps, even though the likelihood of seeing new and interesting information keeps decreasing. The more you do it, the less you gain.
2. It's making you sick. All that tapping, typing, and swiping may make your touchscreen as germy as your computer keyboard. A study found that about 20 percent to 30 percent of viruses on a glass surface similar to a smart phone screen will transfer to your fingertips -- and it's a short trip from there to your mouth or eyes. So, clean the screen with a disinfecting wipe.
3. It's hurting your eyes. The combination of holding your phone too close and staring at a small font can lead to eye strain, headaches, dry eye, and blurred vision. So, increase the font size to twice the smallest size you're able to read and maintain a distance of at least 16 inches between the screen and your eyes. If you're reading for longer than a few minutes, take regular 20-second breaks.
4. It's causing you stress. It's because you're never unreachable, and you're constantly expecting to be reached. This constant stress can actually trick people into believing that their phone vibrated from a new text or e-mail even when no messages came in. To solve the problem, start by shutting off your phone for an hour every day, and slowly work your way up to 2-hour breaks. And, no, while you're sleeping doesn't count.