看屏幕时的呼吸暂停：当我们对着屏幕打字、点击、滑动时，我们的呼吸会发生什么变化

https://www.npr.org/2024/06/10/1247296780/screen-apnea-why-screens-cause-shallow-breathing

2007 年，前微软高管 Linda Stone 注意到，每次她坐下来回复电子邮件时，都会发生一些奇怪的事情：她会屏住呼吸。

“我会提前吸气，但不会呼气，因为会有太多的电子邮件涌入，”Stone 在接受 NPR 的 Body Electric （节目）采访时告诉 Manoush Zomorodi。“这种情况会持续几个小时。”

Stone 想知道这种情况有多普遍，并开始使用她所谓的“厨房餐桌科学法”进行调查。她招募了数十位朋友和同事坐在她的电脑前回复电子邮件，同时她监测他们的脉搏和心率变异性（heart rate variability, or HRV）。在这些参与者中，80% 的人患有Stone 所称的“看电子邮件或屏幕时的呼吸暂停”——在屏幕前工作时呼吸浅或暂停。

https://blog.sciencenet.cn/blog-306792-1412317.html

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有20% 的参与者没有表现出屏幕呼吸暂停的迹象，其中包括一名前军事试飞员、一名铁人三项运动员、舞蹈家、歌手和一名大提琴手——这些人接受过保持呼吸和执行任务或技能的训练。

“观察大提琴手是最有（说服）力的事之一，因为我可以看到他的整个身体都保持活跃、精力充沛，”Stone 解释说。“当他坐在屏幕前时，他完全‘进入角色’。”

呼吸习惯——以及它们为何重要

“当你观察 90% 的人口时，你会发现他们呼吸不正确，”科学记者 James Nestor 告诉Zomorodi。“包括用嘴呼吸、呼吸到胸部（太浅）、无意识地屏住呼吸、打鼾、睡眠时呼吸暂停、哮喘等等。”

Nestor 是畅销书《呼吸：失传艺术的新科学》的作者，该书记录了他对呼吸功能的研究。他解释说，几百年来，随着人体姿势的退化，人类已经失去了自然呼吸模式，我们大部分时间都弯腰驼背地看着屏幕和设备。

【译者：因为这本书，我写过几篇关于呼吸的博客：

https://blog.sciencenet.cn/blog-306792-1411644.html

https://blog.sciencenet.cn/blog-306792-1410749.html

】

“如果你弯腰驼背，你就无法伸展腹部。你就无法轻柔、缓慢、深沉地呼吸，”Nestor 说。

这会导致浅胸呼吸，这意味着我们最终会呼吸更多，从而向大脑发送压力信号。

正确呼吸对我们的健康和幸福有着巨大的积极影响。缓慢呼吸可以降低我们的压力水平，提高注意力，调节我们的情绪，甚至帮助我们做出更好的决定。幸运的是，Nestor 相信可以重新训练你的身体，让它呼吸得更好。“我认为你绝对可以在看着屏幕的同时保持健康的呼吸，这是毫无疑问的，”他说。

指南：在你打字、点击、滑动时重新训练我们的呼吸

1. 注意你的呼吸。

我们的呼吸习惯往往是潜意识的。每天检查几次你的身体和呼吸，并注意它们的模式。你在浏览社交媒体时屏住呼吸吗？呼吸很浅？任何时候你发现自己这样做，用鼻子深呼吸几次，重新调整呼吸。

2. 观察狗和婴儿的呼吸方式！

为了重新适应你的自然呼吸，Nestor 建议观察健康的狗或婴儿的呼吸。“他们呼吸很深。他们的胃在呼吸时会非常轻柔地膨胀。他们呼吸很慢，用鼻子吸气和呼气，”他说。

3. 拿起乐器。

前微软高管 Stone 发现学习乐器有助于她保持良好的姿势和呼吸。这反过来又让她养成了更好的呼吸习惯——即使是在屏幕前。她还参加了交谊舞课程，她说这也有类似的效果。

4. 休息一下。

经常休息可以帮助你远离屏幕，深呼吸以平静和舒缓你的神经系统。顺便说一句，这项建议也被发现对你的短期和长期健康产生积极影响（正如 NPR 的 Body Electric 系列所探讨的那样）。

5. 工作时在后台使用呼吸应用程序（App）。

为了在屏幕前工作时养成良好的呼吸习惯，Nestor 建议在长时间工作时在后台使用呼吸应用程序。呼吸应用程序和呼吸区是两个值得尝试的选择。（这不是广告——有很多应用程序可供选择）。【The Breathing App and Breathing Zone are two options to try. (This is not an endorsement — many apps are out there).】

这些应用程序将播放平滑的音调或声音，提示你以设定的间隔吸气和呼气，这样你就可以在工作时跟随声音呼吸。经过足够的练习，当你的注意力集中在屏幕上时，你的身体将学会自然地保持这种呼吸节奏。

6. 每天进行几次短暂的呼吸练习以重启你的呼吸。

Nestor 建议进行简单的练习，即通过鼻子吸气五到六秒，再通过鼻子呼气五到六秒。

【译者：下面这篇博客教两种方法，我更喜欢2:1。

https://blog.sciencenet.cn/blog-306792-1412317.html

】

“当你吸气时，你会感觉到腹部区域轻微扩张，然后当你继续吸气时，试着将呼吸抬高到胸部区域，” Nestor 解释道。“所以你从低处开始，然后稍微抬高一点。”这被称为“三步呼吸”。

他说，一开始需要集中注意力，但每天练习就会变得更容易。

“一旦你建立了它，你就不必再去想它了。一旦你不必再去想它，你就会开始注意到你感觉好多了，” Nestor 说。“每天这样呼吸两分钟，我认为即使这样也会有所不同。”

Screen apnea: What happens to our breath when we type, tap, scroll

https://www.npr.org/2024/06/10/1247296780/screen-apnea-why-screens-cause-shallow-breathing

In 2007, former Microsoft executive Linda Stone noticed something strange happening every time she'd sit down to answer emails. She was holding her breath.

"I would inhale in anticipation, but I wouldn't exhale because so many emails would be streaming in," Stone told Manoush Zomorodi in an interview for NPR's Body Electric. "And this would go on for hours."

Stone wondered how common this was and set out to investigate using "kitchen table science," as she called it. She recruited dozens of friends and colleagues to sit at her computer answering emails while she monitored their pulse and heart rate variability. Of those participants, 80% had what Stone coined "email or screen apnea" — shallow or suspended breathing while working on a screen.

The 20% of participants who did not show signs of screen apnea included a former military test pilot, a triathlete, dancers, singers and a cellist — people who had trained to breathe and perform a task or skill simultaneously.

"Observing the cellist was one of the most powerful things, because I could see that his whole body stayed enlivened, energetic," Stone explained. "He was fully present when he was sitting in front of a screen."

Breathing habits — and why they matter

"Poor breathing is what you see when you look at 90% of the population," science journalist James Nestor told Zomorodi. "It includes breathing through the mouth, breathing up into the chest, unconsciously holding your breath, snoring, sleep apnea, asthma, on and on and on."

Nestor is the author of the bestselling book Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, which chronicles his investigation into the power of breath. He explained that over the course of hundreds of years, humans have lost touch with natural breathing patterns as our posture has declined and we spend much of the day hunched over our screens and devices.

"If you are hunched over, you can't extend your belly. You can't take that soft, slow, deep breath," Nestor said.

This results in shallow chest breathing, which means we end up breathing more, which sends stress signals to the brain.

Breathing properly has an immense positive impact on our health and well-being. Slow breathing lowers our stress levels, increases focus, regulates our emotions and even helps us make better decisions. Luckily, Nestor feels confident that it's possible to retrain your body to breathe well. "I think you can absolutely be a healthy breather looking at a screen, without a doubt," he said.

1. Become aware of your breath.

Our breathing habits are often subconscious. A few times a day, check in with your body and breath and notice the patterns. Are you holding your breath when scrolling through social media? Breathing shallowly? Any time you catch yourself doing this, take a few deep breaths in and out of your nose as a reset.

2. Observe how dogs and infants breathe!

To reconnect with your natural breath, Nestor recommends observing the breathing of a healthy dog or infant. "They breathe very deep. Their stomachs expand very gently when they breathe. They breathe very slowly, and they breathe in and out of their noses," he said.

3. Take up an instrument.

Stone, the former Microsoft executive, found that learning an instrument helped her maintain good posture and breathing. This in turn allowed her to form better breathing habits — even while in front of a screen. She also took ballroom dancing lessons, which she said had a similar effect.

4. Take breaks.

Taking frequent breaks can help you step away from your screen and take some deep breaths to calm and soothe your nervous system. Incidentally, this recommendation has also been found to positively impact your short- and long-term health (as explored throughout NPR's Body Electric series).

5. Use a breathing app in the background while you work.

To form good breathing habits while working on a screen, Nestor recommends using a breathing app in the background for extended work periods. The Breathing App and Breathing Zone are two options to try. (This is not an endorsement — many apps are out there).

These apps will play a smooth tone or sound that prompts you to inhale and exhale at a set interval, so you can follow the sound with your breath while you work. With enough practice, your body will learn to naturally hold this breathing rhythm when your attention is otherwise focused on your screen.

6. Practice short breathing exercises a few times a day to reset your breath.

Nestor suggests the simple exercise of breathing in through your nose for five to six seconds and out through your nose for five to six seconds.

"As you inhale, you want to feel that slight expansion of that abdominal region, and then as you continue inhaling, try to lift that breath up to your chest area," Nestor explained. "So you start low, and you work it up a little higher." This is known as a three-part breath.

He says it will take some concentration at first, but it will get easier each day that you practice it.

"Once you establish it, you don't have to think about it. And once you don't have to think about it, you start to notice that you're feeling so much better," Nestor said. "Breathe this way for two minutes a day, and I think even that's going to make a difference."

This episode of Body Electric was produced by Katie Monteleone and edited by Sanaz Meshkinpour. Original music by David Herman. Our audio engineer was Robert Rodriguez.

Listen to the whole series here. Sign up for the Body Electric Challenge and our newsletter here.

Talk to us on Instagram @manoushz, or record a voice memo and email it to us at BodyElectric@npr.org.