Blame it on smartphones. We are stressed out to the max, and many are blaming it on the constant connectivity of email, text messages, and social media from work that haunt us 24-7. It doesn’t end.
And it’s taking a toll on our health.
Britain has been following the phenomenon closely, and monitoring the data. In the past ten years there has been a 34% increase in the number of stress and anxiety caused illnesses that have led to hospitalization.
Stress can show up in a number of unexpected ways, according to Dr. John Higgins. “Asthma, or breathing problems are worse. It increases obesity. Diabetes gets worse. People get more stress-related headaches and Depression. GI upsets. It even speeds up aging and Alzheimer’s disease,” he ticks off, and Dr. Higgins is someone who knows. A professor of medicine at the McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UT Health), Chief Cardiologist at Lyndon Johnson Hospital, he is the Memorial Hermann Director of Exercise Physiology, Institute for Sports Medicine and Human Performance. Dr. Higgins says we need to learn how to unplug to relieve constant stress, and value the health benefits of taking vacation time from work. “So take your vacation. Make sure you use up all your vacation time and try to disconnect more from work and you’ll live longer and hopefully prosper.”
The British found the increase in stress-related illnesses is sharpest among white collar office workers.