Is modern life harming our HEALTH?

THANKS to modern technology and instant communication, our brains are busier than ever before, often juggling many things at once. And whether it’s a text, Facebook request or work email, everyone expects our immediate attention.

But if you think multitasking is a good way to get lots done, think again. According to neuroscientist Earl Miller, our brains aren’t wired this way. “People think they’re multitasking, but they’re actually just switching from one task to another very rapidly and performing each one less effectively,” he explains

Attempts to multitask have been found to increase production of the stress hormone cortisol and the fightor-flight hormone adrenaline, leaving us anxious and stressed – and over time increasing our risk of depression. Indeed, a raft of recent studies have linked overuse of the internet, phones and social media to mental health problems in adults and children.

Slow down, focus on one task at a time and take regular tech breaks. Make it a rule to leave your computer at lunchtime and put your phone on silent while spending quality time with friends and family.

It’s especially important for good sleep that tablets and smartphones aren’t used before bed as they overstimulate the brain. Keep them in a different room overnight to stop kids and adults breaking this rule. SPENDING large amounts of time indoors under artificial lights and staring at computer screens has helped produce a “myopia epidemic”, with as many as 90% of people needing glasses, according to experts.

“We’re simply not spending as much time outside as when our vision system first evolved,” explains anthropologist Professor Andrea Melin, “a shift that is drastically affecting our sight.”

It’s crucial to take regular screen breaks and if you need reading glasses, wear them. Remember to blink regularly to encourage tear production, and adopt the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look 20 feet away for 20 seconds to give your eye muscles a break.

Getting outside more, especially for children, is also vital, says Professor Melin, as this ensures the eye muscles develop the ability to focus on things far away as well as close up. OUR sense of smell is under attack from air pollution, according to Professor Kara Hoover, an expert in smell evolution from Alaska University.

“Smell evolved in very odour-rich outdoor landscapes,” she explains.

It may seem like a good thing that modern life is less smelly but for most of us that means we’re outdoors less and often in air-polluted places.

The result is that many of the natural scents which were an important part of life for our ancestors – for example, telling them when food was safe to eat – are now masked from us.

According to Prof Hoover, research shows that if our sense of smell is dulled it puts people at a greater risk of mental health disorders, such as depression.

One reason for this is that smell is linked to the emotional part of the brain and so anything that impairs it can reduce enjoyment from simple pleasures like eating.

This makes us prefer richer-tasting food high in fat and salt, which leads to obesity.

Despite the negative effects of pollution, it’s still important to get outside more, especially in green open spaces to sharpen your sense of smell.

Take the time to really smell foods – whether it’s wine, cheese or coffee – before you take a mouthful. Experts say that regularly smelling things before consuming them will over time improve your smell sensitivity TECHNOLOGY has transformed the way we listen to music, from huge concert amplification to wireless headphones. But these advances have come at a cost to our hearing, with overexposure to loud noise the single largest cause of preventable deafness. The number of UK adults who say they struggle to hear in social situations has increased by almost 15% over the last two decades and is likely to rise further, according to the International Journal of Audiology. Hearing loss not only spoils our enjoyment of music, but has the potential to lead to unemployment, isolation and has even been linked to dementia. Don’t listen to music at more than 60% of your device’s maximum volume – some smartphones have a built-in safety level which warns you if you go over it.

Only use earphones for an hour a day and, if you love music, invest in some noise-cancelling headphones which shut out background noise so you can hear perfectly at lower volumes.

At concerts, stand back from speakers and try ear plugs – they don’t block the sound but can keep it at a safe level. PAUL BRESLIN, Professor of nutritional sciences at Rutgers University in the US, believes that a key reason behind the world’s obesity crisis is our love for sugary food.

And this stems from our ape ancestors who “would go up into the trees and gorge on the sugary fruit when in season”.

Of course today sugary treats are available all year round. “So we gorge and gorge and gorge and get larger and larger,” Prof Breslin says.

Cut down gradually to lessen withdrawal symptoms, reducing sugar in tea and having fewer fizzy drinks.

“Don’t let yourself get overhungry,” advises nutritionist Rob Hobson. “Eat three meals dailyand keep healthy snacks, such as nuts, to hand.

“When you skip meals your blood sugar drops and you’re more likely to crave something sweet.”

Stress can also have a major impact on sugar cravings, so try to manage yours. “Eating foods rich in magnesium, such as nuts, seeds and even a little high-cocoa dark chocolate can help ease anxiety,” says Rob. AIR pollution is a big problem throughout the country with London in trouble this year for breaching safe pollution limits, mainly due to diesel vehicles. Mayor Sadiq Khan warned: “Everyone – from the most vulnerable to the physically fit – may need to take precautions to protect themselves from the filthy air.”

In particular, levels of nitrogen dioxide – which is linked to heart and lung disease, and contributes to the early deaths of 40,000 Britons a year – are at dangerous levels.

These days, it’s wise to follow the guidelines when toxic smog levels are very high.

For adults and children with lung or heart problems and older people, the advice is to avoid strenuous physical activity and, for people with asthma, to use their inhaler more often.

Even otherwise healthy people may notice symptoms, such as a dry throat, sore eyes and a tickly cough, when pollution levels are high and are warned not to exercise outdoors