Digital devices are indispensable in the daily life of modern people. This series was planned to ‘log out’ from various diseases caused by digital devices and media. We deliver fruitful information to keep you healthy in a daily life obsessed with digital devices.
For modern people, various digital devices such as smartphones and computers are indispensable necessities in daily life. However, excessive use of digital devices can deteriorate brain function. If you often blink even at a relatively young age, you should suspect ‘digital dementia’ caused by overuse of digital devices.
If you have severe forgetfulness even at a young age, you should suspect digital dementiaㅣSource: Getty Image Bank
Memory loss due to digital dementia… can lead to real dementia
Dementia refers to a condition in which a person who normally lives normally suffers from brain damage for various reasons, and after the onset of memory impairment, cognitive functions such as judgment and language decline deteriorate, which interferes with daily life. Dementia is often perceived as a symptom caused by aging, but recently, dementia symptoms are appearing in younger people as well. It is a so-called ‘digital dementia’ caused by excessive use of digital devices. ‘Digital dementia’ is not real dementia, but it refers to a phenomenon in which the brain’s ability to remember information on its own is reduced due to overdependence on digital devices, resulting in frequent forgetfulness. This phenomenon has led to the creation of a new term called “Youngzheimer’s,” which is a combination of “Young” and “Alzheimer’s.”
Our brain basically develops the more we use it and degenerates if we don’t use it. With the development of digital devices, a few touches of a smartphone replaced the brain’s ability to store memories and think, reducing and degenerating memory capacity. The hippocampus in the brain, which is in charge of memory, switches from short-term memory to long-term memory through repeated experiences for a short period of time for various stimuli. However, if new or more interesting information is entered prior to being saved, the existing information is pushed out of priority and suffers from forgetfulness in which the previous information cannot be remembered. Symptoms such as forgetting stored information quickly, having difficulty memorizing three or more phone numbers, and not being good at simple calculations appear.
Digital dementia is a social phenomenon, but if these symptoms are not improved, certain parts of the brain do not develop, which can lead to deterioration of brain function. In particular, overuse of digital devices has fatal consequences for the brain development of infants and children who are born and raised in a digital environment and can freely handle digital language and equipment. The human brain develops the most during infancy and childhood. However, excessive exposure to digital media during childhood and childhood is highly likely to develop into digital dementia syndrome. Digital dementia syndrome is not only a memory loss, but also a major cause of stress. Thinking that life will be inconvenient the moment the cell phone is turned off, they feel anxious even before the cell phone is turned off, and even fall into a state of psychological panic.
Digital Dementia Syndrome Representative Symptoms ChecklistㅣSource: Haidak
Lifestyle habits that help with digital dementia
Digital dementia syndrome is not a medically defined disease. So there is no clear cure or medicine. You need to stay away from the habits that cause this in your daily life and create healthy lifestyles to prevent digital dementia.
First of all, in order to prevent digital dementia, it is most important to reduce dependence on digital devices. Use digital devices only when necessary, and refrain from multitasking, such as working, listening to music, making phone calls while the TV is on, or playing games on your smartphone. Multitasking is a behavior that overuses the brain, making it easy to get tired.
It is also a way to grow brain nerve cells through light running or walking while getting a sense of psychological stability in nature rather than just watching a smartphone or TV on a day off or in leisure time. Walking and talking with friends or family improves brain function by stimulating the language and motor areas of the brain. Sleeping well is also important. It is good for brain health to refrain from using smartphones 2 hours before bedtime. This is because the knowledge and experiences received while awake are stored as long-term memory through sleep, and sleep may be disturbed by the light or electromagnetic waves of the smartphone.
Digital dementia occurs because the mechanism to store memories in the brain is weakened by using electronic devices directly without trying to find information stored in the brain when information is needed. To overcome this, it is recommended to actively use the brain in everyday life. If possible, it is better to jot down and calculate information by hand rather than using the memo or calculator function on your cell phone device. It is also a way to reduce the use of digital devices and read books or newspapers. If it is not your first trip, you should drive using your memory rather than using a navigation system, and actively use your brain in everyday life, such as imagining in your head how things will unfold rather than passively watching TV.
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2023-05-04 11:00:00
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