Take a Healthy Email Break

You know that email stresses you out. Too many emails to read and respond to. So many requests for information. Questions to answer, research, projects. And the whining and complaining. It’s enough to make you hit a global “delete” and walk out the door.

The stress is real, but it’s not just mental. A study reported in Inc. Magazine, “How Email Is Ruining Your Health,” that stress had effects on your physical health. A team of UK researchers used 30 government employees as guinea pigs in an experiment to track the physical as well as mental effects of email. They tracked blood pressure, heart rate and cortisol levels, a hormone related to stress, weight-loss resistance and the storage of belly fat. In addition to tracking these indicators, they asked the participants to keep a diary of their workday. The results were not surprising.

A single email had no more effect on stress than a single phone call. The problem with email is that it doesn’t come in ones or twos. Emails can come by the tens and, by the end of the day, hundreds. It’s the volume of emails the researchers found increased all the stress indicators, like heart rate, blood pressure and cortisol levels. All this physical stress increases the possibility of heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure and the health effects of storing unsightly belly fat.

The study also discovered why email was so annoying and caused some much distress. It wasn’t so much the volume. It wasn’t even complaints or emails with extra assignments. The emails that caused the most stress were those that interrupted recipients from more important work, or those that were just of no interest or consequence to the recipient. Sales pitches. Copies of emails from people they didn’t know or projects that they weren’t involved in. Advertisements. Some emails demanded immediate attention, pulling recipients away from important tasks.

The study found that email really doesn’t make life easier and more productive. Email is a communications tool, but it didn’t replace anything. Email just added another form of communication that needs attention, like your phone (desk or cell phone), pager or Facebook message. Some people prefer to post a status update on Facebook or send an inmail on LinkedIn to communicate. This multitude of mediums stresses people out, trying to juggle multiple forms of communication for fear they are going to miss an important communication.  The expectation of an email sender is you’re right there, watching your inbox. They expect a response right away.

Earlier studies actually said that multi-tasking can make you stupider. They suggest a simple technique called “set-shifting.” Instead of letting email rule your day and stress you out, use it as a way to take a mini-vacation from longer periods of focusing on work projects. Plan to spend a period of time working uninterrupted and then take a little “email vacation” by checking emails to decompress and clear your mind. Schedule email “breaks” and let team members or your boss know your schedule so they won’t expect an immediate response.

Email is a communication tool that isn’t going away. It’s now available on every digital device, and there is nowhere to hide. You can use it to take a break, de-stress and make it work for you on your terms.

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