When you are at dinner, how long does your dining partner go before looking at their phone? How long do you go? The problem of looking at our devices nonstop is both social and psychological, writes The New York Times. The average human head is about 10 to 12 pounds. When we bend our heavy heads to text or check Facebook, the gravitational pull on our head and the stress on our neck increases to as much as 60 pounds of pressure. Since people are doing this so constantly, it can lead to incremental loss of the curve of the cervical spine. “Text next” is becoming a medical issue that countless people suffer from, a new report published last year in The Spine Journal said. The way we hang our heads has other health risks too. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, our posture can affect mood, behavior and memory. Frequent slouching can make us depressed, and the way we stand affects everything: The mount of energy we have, bone and muscle development, and the amount of oxygen our lungs can take in. The remedy is shockingly simple: Just sit up. About 75 percent of Americans believe their smartphone usage doesn’t impact their ability to pay attention in a group setting, but the “always-on” behavior that smartphones contribute to causes us to remove ourselves from our reality, experts say.
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