Many of us enjoy reading. If you are “old school,” like me, you prefer holding a book or magazine in your hands. But today there is a new way to read. We have moved into the technology era and, with that shift, we have created ways of acquiring all sorts of information on our devices (smartphone tablet, etc. ). We read news, emails, eBooks, web pages, and even this blog post on a screen. Indispensable as digital media has become, however, we must be careful to address the negative health implications in order to stay healthy in spite of potential hazards of technological progress.
Much of what we read on a screen today could only be accessed in a printed format (on paper) before. With that shift we have developed totally different habits in reading and consuming information. Perhaps this new way is more convenient for some, but in my opinion, it takes away from the reading experience. For example, when I read anything on paper, I always have a yellow highlighter in my hand so that I can mark the main points of the information for future reference. I realize that electronic files can be annotated and saved for later reference, too, but doing so is far more complicated than using a physical highlighter and the process distracts me from my reading.
Regardless, I have witnessed many changes in how we read over the last two decades. I have noticed this shift particularly in my office, as patients are waiting in our reception room to be seen. They invariably have their heads down looking at their phone or pad.
I have already discussed in previous articles the physical issues that this posture causes for many today. In fact, we now have a name for the pain it triggers. It is called “text neck,” a catchy term for the unfortunate, chronic, upper back and neck pain that results from holding a head-down position for hours on end use in order to read digital media.
However, I am not going to speak further about these physical issues. No, rather, I wish to focus on another deficit that electronic reading versus paper reading causes.
OUR VISUAL ENVIRONMENT IS LINKED TO COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE
A recent study performed at the Showa University School of Medicine in Tokyo by Dr. Motoyasu Honma aimed to further explore two previously established findings. Those findings indicate that 1.) reading comprehension declines when reading from an electronic device, and 2.) there is a link between respiration (i.e., breathing) and brain function. In short, we may not remember, or in fact even understand, what we read electronically when compared to a book.
Because the reasons for this remained unclear, Dr. Honma’s wanted to find out. He focused on two issues: vision and breathing patterns. The hypothesis was that reading electronic information would alter breathing patterns and thereby affect overall brain function, and specifically reading comprehension.
The study sample was arguably small in this research study, consisting of just 34 university students. These students read excerpts from a novel on a smartphone and in hard copy print. They then were asked to read sections of another novel written by the same author. During this process the recordings were made of the students brain activity, and their breathing activity was measured as well. Once the students completed the assigned reading, they were asked a series of 10 questions relating to the information presented in the sections of the books that they had read.
The researchers found that the findings of their study were consistent with studies that had been performed previously on the same subject. In fact, the student’s comprehension for what was read via the hard copy/paper form of print was superior to the electronic version.
The other variation between the two groups was in their breathing habits. You see, when we are tasked with experiencing a cognitive challenge, which places an extra load on our working memory, we tend to sigh (defined as breathing that is twice the normal depth) more. This was not the case with the electronic reading sample of students.
YOUR BRAIN NEEDS OXYGEN
The findings indicated that overall, the brain activity of both groups of students was elevated, and in fact, was higher for the smartphone users. Now this doesn’t mean that this group was using, more “brain power.” Smartphone readers had poorer reading comprehension. But why, you might ask? The researchers attributed this to less sighing and, as a result, less of an oxygen supply to the brain.
Dr. Honma believes that smartphone/electronic media users actually cause extra demands to be placed on their cognitive load. He notes that this increase in cognitive load leads to overactivity of the brain, which in turn stifles sighing. This in turn causes reduced comprehension. He speculates that the higher cognitive load placed on the brains of the students reading electronic information is caused by blue light exposure from the screen.
The recommendation that the lead researcher of the study Dr. Honma has for electronic readers is to take deep breaths periodically while reading.
I know that this information is disheartening to some who regularly pick up their kindle or phone to read a book. For those of us who are still lugging around a book to read, keep sighing. For those who choose to pick up their Kindle or iPhone to consume information, remember to breathe deeply.