Smartphone Reading Responsible For Brain Overactivity And Lower Comprehension Skills
Do you spend a lot of time reading on your smartphone device? It might be affecting your mind and its ability to comprehend words, a study claims.
Published in the journal Scientific Reports, the study claims that reading on electronic devices reduces our ability to comprehend words. In addition, the study found that reading on a smartphone causes overactivity in the prefrontal cortex.
The role of smartphone screens
This is especially worrying because most people now depend on their screens to read - be it to consume news, books, and even studying. While previous researches have suggested how such smartphone reading causes eye strain and headaches, the new study essentially links it to poorer ability to comprehend words.
To study this, author Motoyasu Honma and team explored two factors related to cognitive function and performance - visual environment and respiration patterns. Their claims are based on the premise that reading on screens may alter respiratory function and brain function, which in turn would impact one's cognitive performance.
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During this process, they also noted the role of sighing. While sighing too much may be considered to have a negative effect on social communication, it has a positive effect on cognitive function.
Measuring brain activity of readers
About 34 Japanese university students?in their early 20s?took part in the study wherein two reading trials were held. Students read text on either a smartphone or on paper. To balance the text, passages were taken from two novels written by the same author.
All students were given near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) headbands to measure activity in the prefrontal cortex. They were also given masks to measure respiration patterns. All participants were then given a 10 question test based on contents of the passages.
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The first finding revealed how students how read the text on paper performed better. In addition, they found differences in students' respiratory activity depending on the medium used for reading. Paper readers sighed more often compared to smartphone readers. What is a sigh? For this study's sake, they measured a sigh as a breath that was twice the depth of an average breath during a session.
While prefrontal brain activity increased in both cases, it was higher for students reading on a smartphone. This, in turn, was related to a decrease in sighing and lower reading comprehension.
What do you think about the correlation between smartphones and brain activity? Let us know in the comments below.?For more in the world of?technology?and?science, keep reading?Indiatimes.com.
References
Ellwood, B. (2022, April 4). Reading on a smartphone promotes overactivity in the prefrontal cortex and lowers reading comprehension, study finds. PsyPost.?
