DENVER (KDVR) — If you’re not commuting as much but still feel exhausted, there could be a very good reason for that. Research shows a year of online classes and working from home is taking its toll.
Remember when an email inbox was considered to be full with 20 messages? Now that number can run into the thousands and the effort to sift through and delete messages can take more time than many are willing to sacrifice during a busy workday.
“I normally get emails from school, sometimes it’s just like spam emails,” Isis tells the FOX31 Problem Solvers.
With many working from home during the pandemic, sitting through several online meetings per day has become commonplace. Combine it all with constant texting and it is possible for health problems to develop.
“I didn’t really need glasses but when I got a phone and started going to school my eyes started to strain,” Isis said.
The Microsoft 2021 Work Trend Index outlines findings from a study of more than 30,000 people in 31 countries. It shows time spent in Teams meetings has more than doubled over that past year and average more than 30 minutes. The number of emails for businesses and educational programs is up by more than 40 billion, that’s in one month alone compared to last year.
Charles Ballas of Denver Mac Repair spends hours at a time on computers as well, but he’s repairing them and he said business is good. Accessories that ease the strain of hours spent daily on computers are popular items. Ballas tells the Problem Solvers adapters can provide a basic solution to eye and neck strain.
“You can send your video from the computer to a big TV or computer monitor and sit back in your chair and not have to crane your neck down or stare at a small screen,” Ballas said.
He adds that a good wireless mouse and ergonomic keyboard can provide more space to reposition to prevent strain as well.
Health experts said the most effective remedy for digital overload is to just set a time each day to take a break from the tech and stick to it, as challenging as that may sound. Danny tells FOX31 the result is less stress and anxiety.
“I’m kind of taking a break from it because it can obviously get very overwhelming, it’s just freeing,” he said.