Stress caused by smartphones: How your mobile phone affects your health
It is proven that smartphones trigger stress in us in various ways. The smartphone is our gateway to the outside world; numerous apps ensure that we stay in contact with others and show ourselves from our best side. It’s time to take a look at the influence of smartphones on your health and give you some tips.
The research is clear: smartphones have a major impact on your sleep, mental health and impulse control. Your memory and attention span are also negatively affected. A study from 2019 even found the influence on a chemical level: Constant use of your smartphone increases the amount of the stress hormone cortisol in your body. Cortisol affects blood pressure and blood sugar, as well as heart rate, among other things. What can ensure our survival in critical moments, however, ensures the complete opposite in everyday life: it shortens our lifespan!
Does mobile phone radiation cause cancer?
Whether mobile phone radiation causes cancer has been debated since the advent of the first mobile phones. Fortunately, the studies are now very clear: mobile phone radiation cannot cause cancer and is not responsible for tumours. It is true that mobile phones, like smartphones, emit radiation – but this radiation is long-wave and low-energy, i.e. it is not capable of destroying your cells or even your DNA. But these are factors that are needed for cancer cells to develop. If you still want a smartphone with particularly low radiation, you can read all about mobile phone radiation and low-radiation devices here. Studies have shown, however, that mobile phone radiation can increase the temperature – but only by 0.1° Celsius on the surface of the skin. If you want to read more about this topic and other myths, you will find what you are looking for in our text on mobile phone myths.
Does blue light disturb us when we fall asleep?
Another myth that has been with us for years is the myth of blue light that disturbs us when we fall asleep. Yet the scientific background is quite justified: Blue light contains more energy than red or yellow light and has a stronger effect on the production of the sleep hormone melatonin. However, the research situation on blue light is very poor: some studies found a difference, others did not. But the studies often have only a few participants or cannot be transferred to everyday life (bed in the sleep lab vs. bed at home). Larger studies are unfortunately lacking. In mice, yellow light even had a more sleep-preventing effect than blue light. Nevertheless, all smartphone manufacturers now have blue light filters in their settings. This is supposed to reduce the blue light component, making the display appear browner. But as we already wrote in our mobile phone myth article:
Blue light is only a small part of the chain. Much more important than the night light function of smartphones are, among other things, the food you eat before sleep, your mattress and bedding, the amount of light and noise in your bedroom, the brightness of your smartphone, your posture and sleeping position, and much more. So, blue light is not the villain it is made out to be.
Doomscrolling: Our earth is f*cked…!?
For a few years now, another term has joined the long list of life-limiting liabilities: Doomscrolling. The word describes the excessive consumption of news, often bad news. It doesn’t matter whether it’s about wars, climate change, a new assassination attempt or a natural disaster with many fatalities: News of this kind has a negative effect on our psyche. In search of reliable information, we absorb every piece of news like a sponge. The fact that we absorb more bad news than positive is due to the fact that we tend to be more open to negative headlines. This so-called negative bias is also evident in other areas, such as ratings. Someone who has had a bad experience is more likely to write a negative review than someone who has had a positive experience. People who want to find out about a product or service read mainly the bad reviews.
Scientists suspect evolutionary reasons behind this phenomenon. In the past, negative information made us more alert and protected us from danger. This could have been dangerous animals or poisonous berries that we should beware of. It helped us survive.
Since the term has only really come into the mainstream since 2020 in the wake of the Corona pandemic and the George Floyd protests, the research situation is still somewhat thin. However, initial studies show that doomscrolling can lead to anxiety and panic attacks, is responsible for depression and sleep disorders, and can even make people lonely.
When the smartphone keeps us from working
A new notification? Let’s glance. Nothing takes us out of our so-called flow state as quickly as the smartphone that comes on every few minutes. Well, annoying colleagues in the office can also ruin our productivity and rob us of our focus. It’s easier to reach for the smartphone – it’s right in front of us on the desk.
But it also affects our work in other ways, namely when we quickly check our work emails before going to bed and have to read a bad message from the boss. Or when we have to answer business calls in our free time. We sleep less well and are less productive the next day.
The like addiction: the next dopamine kick is already waiting
We are all probably familiar with it: We sign up on a platform, start posting and sharing content… and after some time we notice that certain types of photos or videos get more likes than others. And so we start posting this kind of content more often, after all, we are happy about every like, every thumbs up, every positive comment.
Every Like releases the reward hormone dopamine. This also happens when you are addicted to cigarettes, drugs or alcohol and you indulge in them. What makes social media so addictive is the uncertainty about the number of likes you will get for your photos, according to Adam Alter, a professor at New York University.
Reading tips:
The Guardian: Has dopamine got us hooked on tech?
When social media becomes work
On top of that, there’s a lot of work behind every Instagram photo or TikTok video, after all, we want to show ourselves from our best side and not make any mistakes in the TikTok video. And so we take hundreds of shots of ourselves and edit it with filters and cuts so that we come across as perfect and flawless as possible on these platforms. Every like is a reward for that work. But this work also causes stress – after all, we want our next post to be even better, to get even more likes. And before you know it, you are caught in this vicious circle. Authenticity falls by the wayside, social media becomes work, and this work causes stress.
You’re simply the best, or: Life through a filter
Since everyone only posts the best of themselves, you quickly feel left out. While your best friend is posting pictures of great holidays, delicious food, successful and exciting experiences, you are sitting in a crowded train on a rainy day, overtired and driving to a badly paid job. Studies show that this comparison is poison for our psyche. When we see these kinds of posts, we assume they are reality. We don’t see that the flight or the service was terrible or that the experience was financed on credit (keyword Klarna, see below). That the (allegedly) successful person works 16 hours or more and thus has no family life, we don’t see that either. We only see a very brief excerpt.
Nevertheless, we want it too: we want great experiences, we want expensive cars, we want awesome trips to remote places.
This concept, known as the “comparison trap”, was around before social media, but it was Instagram and co. that really made it big with their algorithms. We compare ourselves with our friends and acquaintances, with influencers and celebrities. And therefore share diligently as well when we are on holiday.
Reading tips:
Psychology Today: The Comparison Trap
Venteur: How The Social Media Comparison Trap Wreaks Havoc on Our Well-Being
Smartphone debt: In the debt trap with Klarna and Co.
At this point, we’ll leave out the usual lectures on loans and debts and focus on the health aspect of the “Buy Now, Pay Later” model. Because shopping can be addictive: Every new item we hold in our hands triggers happiness hormones in us just as much as a like on social media. And orders are placed very quickly via shopping apps.
However, it becomes problematic when you can no longer settle the debt with companies like Klarna. And that can happen faster than you think – for example, if an important everyday item such as your smartphone or washing machine breaks down or an expensive back payment gets into your letterbox. An accident or unemployment can also lead to over-indebtedness. Debt has been proven to cause great stress and lead to illnesses such as depression, sleep disorders or other physical complaints.
If you use “Buy Now, Pay Later” providers like Klarna, make sure you don’t overextend yourself financially. Invest in your future, for example in language skills, rather than in the moment. Using the service once in a while is okay – but bragging about #klarnadebt on TikTok is not cool. Tracking your spending with a budget app is generally helpful here to keep an overview.
How you can minimise stress
As you can see, your little pocket companion has a big impact on your health. But you don’t have to do a digital detox. As with other things, it can help us in small doses and harm us in large quantities. Even small changes in your everyday life can have a big impact.
Strengthen attention and mindfulness
The moment you reach for your smartphone after getting up, checking your social media messages on the toilet, reading the news while eating… they all have one thing in common: you do it unconsciously. Before you can tackle stress, you need to focus your attention on stress. Since you’re reading this article, you’ve probably already taken this step.
Next is about strengthening your mindfulness, that is, strengthening your “awareness” and experiencing the moment. This can be banal things like the following.
- Try to close your eyes at the next meal and perceive the food only by smell and taste.
- Stop for a few minutes and notice your posture: are you sitting upright or bent over? Where do you have tension and pain?
- Control your breathing: Breathe deeply in and out for a minute and pay attention to your breathing.
- The next time you reach for alcohol or a cigarette, ask yourself, “Why am I doing this?” To satisfy an addiction? For fun? Because those around me do it too?
- Deliberately take a different route on your way to work.
The aim is not to evaluate your behaviour, but to focus attention on the moment, not on the to-do list of the day.
Set clear work-life boundaries
No job in the world is so important that you have to be available after work – well, unless you’re the CEO of a major corporation or a firefighter. Work should stay at work, free time means free time. Turn off work-related notifications. This includes chat programmes like Slack or Microsoft Teams or business email programmes like Outlook. You can set this via the “Focus Mode” tab in the settings, both on Android and iOS.
Give more space to positivity in your feed
It is very difficult to get away from negativity. It is not possible to fade it out completely anyway. But what you can do: Follow more positive sites and accounts that don’t bombard you with a constant barrage of negative messages. Watch animal baby videos, follow accounts that inspire you, or that only share positive news. The world is not all bad. You too could share more positive news as well!
Your health will also thank you if you unfollow people and sites that send out only negativity, who get upset about every little thing, who brag about their wealth or who are only out for chaos and destruction.
Create tech-free zones or phases of the day
Many of us take the smartphone to bed with us, if only for the sake of the alarm – and often the smartphone then lies where there would actually be room for a partner. The author of these lines has the following rules: The mobile phone is on the bedside table, not in bed. The laptop remains in the living room. Notifications of any kind are switched off during the night, no time appears on the display. It could be similar for you.
To start with, it can be worthwhile to set up tech-free phases of the day, for example from 7pm to 8pm. During this time, you take care of yourself and no one else. Meditate, exercise, go for a walk, take a relaxing bath – and do it without your smartphone and/or annoying notifications. This can also be good for your soul.
Take time out with meditation retreats
So-called meditation retreats are becoming more popular. Where in the past it was mainly well-paid company owners who sought time out, today there are also a lot of normal earners who use these locations. Meditation retreats are not just monasteries; there are a lot of special hotels that offer corresponding courses as well. How much time you spend there is up to you – from a weekend to 10 or more days, depending on the provider, everything is possible. It’s not a holiday – there are yoga and meditation classes every day. Experts hold courses on nutrition, stress factors and stress management, lifestyle and physical health – all with the aim of strengthening your awareness and making you more resilient. The advantage: You escape everyday life for a few days, get to know new places and people and learn more about yourself.
Apps for stress relief
Meditation apps
People have been meditating for thousands of years. Meditation is a central element in many religions. Even if it’s hard at first: Meditating brings you to peace and grounds you. Your heart rate decreases, your muscles relax. Guided courses like the ones in the following apps take care of your anxiety and creative blocks and draw attention to you and your body. At first, your mind will wander often, but with practice you’ll get there.
| App name | iOS | Android |
| Apple Fitness+ | Download for iOS | |
| Calm | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
| 7Mind | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
| Headspace | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
| Breethe | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
Journal apps
If you can’t find peace and quiet because of eternal thought loops and musings, journal apps are a good idea. Here you can write down everything that keeps you busy, what bothers you, how you feel and which tasks you have to complete. You can also track your habits, such as on which days you drank alcohol, when you cooked healthy meals and much more. The advantage of journal apps compared to the pen and notebook variant is that these apps guide you through the process and show you connections: in this way, you connect feelings and emotions with entries and can immediately see why you feel the way you do at that moment.
| App name | iOS | Android |
| DayOne | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
| Penzu | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
| 5 Minute Journal | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
| stoic. | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
| Grid Diary | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
Sleep apps
Sleep is important, especially good and restful sleep. But not everyone can lie down in bed and fall asleep immediately. Others wake up several times during the night without noticing. Sleep tracking apps like the following aren’t a cure-all and won’t replace a worn-out mattress or correct posture, but they do create awareness of your sleep stages and record your sleep. Who knows, maybe you really do snore like a sawmill at night 😉 Learn more about sleep tracking apps here.
| App name | iOS | Android |
| Calm | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
| Sleep Cycle | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
| Headspace | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
| Pillow sleep tracker | Download for iOS | |
| Sleep as Android | Download for Android | |
| Sleep Monitor | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
| SnoreLab | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
Fitness apps
As we wrote in our article on New Year’s resolutions: The best time to start exercising is now. No one expects you to run a marathon right away – even professional athletes started small. Just 10 minutes of yoga or a short walk after work can help reduce stress enormously.
| App name | iOS | Android |
| Nike Run Club | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
| Nike Training Club | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
| Freeletics | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
| Asana Rebel | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
| Adidas Running | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
| Adidas Training by Runtastic | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
| PUMATRAC | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
Conclusion: Use your smartphone as a tool and don’t let it define you
If you’re reading this, you’ve already taken the first step: you’ve realised that you’re stressed and that your smartphone is part of the problem. If you follow our tips, you have already taken further steps on the way to overcoming stress. Now it’s up to you: It’s important that you don’t fall back into the old ego, but continue to raise your awareness and focus your attention on the things that stress you out.
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This article was published on 6 March 2023 and updated on 25 November 2024.
