Is watching Reels affecting memory? Know what experts say
People, from children to adults, spend hours on their phones without even realizing how much time has passed. Especially, most of their mobile time is spent scrolling through Reels and short videos. This leads to a lack of physical activity, leading to problems like stiffness, pain, and poor posture. Furthermore, Reels addiction also impacts mental health. This is becoming a serious problem these days.
Prolonged staring at screens can cause mental fatigue, eye irritation, itching, and dryness.
People who use their phones late into the night may also suffer from sleep deprivation.
How the addiction to watching Reels or short videos is affecting your mental health.
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How Reels affect your memory
The addiction to watching Reels or short videos not only wastes time but also makes the body vulnerable to many diseases. During this time, a person remains in the same posture for long periods of time, and laziness can lead to problems like obesity, back pain, backaches, and neck stiffness. This also affects focus and concentration. Let's explore its impact on mental health.
Learn from the experts
Neuro and Spine Surgery Expert at Narayana Hospital, Gurugram, says that constantly watching short videos negatively impacts both attention and memory. Therefore, it's crucial to limit your phone usage to a limited time, and it's also advisable to limit the time spent watching videos or Reels.
Focus Loss
Staying focused is essential for completing any task effectively. However, doctors say that constantly watching interesting content can make it difficult to focus on more complex tasks, such as reading a book, and impact your ability to continue working on a difficult project.
Increased Cognitive Load
Experts say that sudden context-switching increases the burden on the brain. This impacts your cognitive (thinking) abilities. For example, if you're watching a reel or shorts and then have to shift your focus to another task, it can be difficult to maintain focus on that task. Maintaining focus on a single task becomes difficult.
Decreased Attention Control
Doctors say that some studies have found that people who watch short-form videos frequently have difficulty concentrating and struggle to avoid interruptions. This difficulty is believed to be due to the brain's reward system being overstimulated.
Altering the Reward System
The content on most platforms triggers the release of dopamine, which is very similar to addictive substances like drugs. When you watch these videos for hours, the constant dopamine hit can desensitize the brain's reward system, making it difficult to enjoy normal activities. Consequently, mood symptoms like irritability and anxiety may appear.
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Does it affect memory?
According to one of nerves expert, constantly changing content in short videos impacts working memory (the ability to retain and use information). Additionally, prospective memory (remembering to complete a planned task) is also affected.
Decreased memory capacity
Short-form content is beneficial for quickly conveying information, but some studies have shown that its fast pace is not conducive to long-term memory retention and understanding of complex subjects. It's crucial to limit your scrolling through Reels. Set a daily limit. Excessive screen time also ages the skin and negatively impacts the eyes.
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