Urban living is associated with better jobs, fancier lifestyle and improved facilities – a supposedly more wholesome life. But despite the increased accessibility to resources and everything available at the touch of the screen, there is a distinct challenge that is coming to the forefront – the concoction of three Ss, stress, sedentary jobs and screen time. While resources are aplenty, there is a clear health challenge and even risk. Chetna Luthra, Clinical Psychologist, Marengo Asia Hospitals, Gurugram, and Dr Amitabh Saha – Associate Director and Clinical Administrator, Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Vaishali, weigh in.
Prolonged stress can lead to anxiety and depression
Stress is the number one health concern that urban Indians face. “Stress is being defined as one’s response to a perceived challenge or threat that activates the body’s fight flight system – sympathetic nervous system. Stress activates hormones like cortisol and adrenaline that pushes the body into action, but when the body stays in that state for a prolonged period of time, it starts to affect multiple body systems, increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, makes the immune system weak, impairs sleep and decline in brain functioning. When the body is exposed to constant stress – it also can lead to anxiety and depression and other mental health conditions like substance use, inactivity since the body continues to stay in the fight flight mode that also reduces the body’s capacity to heal therefore stress not only gives rise to problems but also takes awa the capacity to fight it and lowers resilience,” says Luthra.
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‘Sedentary lifestyle – Sitting the new smoking’
Sedentary lifestyle is another big drawback of urban living. “With technology revolution and now with AI coming into the picture, jobs are becoming increasingly sedentary. Sitting is being now called as the new smoking due to the harmful effects it has on our health. Extended periods of sitting have been associated obesity, poor cardiovascular health and so many other health conditions like diabetes,” Luthra adds.
Excessive screentime affects health
One of the major contributing factors towards stress is the excessive screen time – from watching series and doomscrolling to remote work and education, digital is the way of today’s life. But excessive screentime is further contributing to sedentary lifestyle and adding to stress. “Spending too much time in front of screens is also a problem. If you are looking at screens for long, it can hurt your eyes and affect your brain. The blue light from screens can mess up your body’s production of melatonin, which is the thing that helps you sleep. This makes it harder to fall asleep. This can also lead to disturbed sleep. So you end up staying up, not getting enough rest, and feeling tired during the day,” Dr Amitabh Saha says.
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Stress + screentime + sendarty lifestyle: Recipe for disaster
As Dr Saha points out, the combined effect of stress, screen exposure, and inactivity is often subtle but cumulative. “People might feel headaches, have trouble focusing, notice changes in their mood, or feel constantly tired without knowing why these symptoms are happening,” he says. Dr Saha adds that making small, regular changes can have a big impact. “Taking short breaks from work, reducing screen time before going to sleep, and handling stress with planned activities or calming methods can help get things back in order,” the doctor says.
Also Read: How To Manage Stress In Workplace And Not Be Overwhelmed – Experts Share 10 Tips
