In years past, concerns about too much screen time were easily remedied by simply turning off the TV. Now however, we live in the Digital Age where screens are a part of our daily life. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, our children spend an average of 7 hours each day with their eyes fixated on screens!
The Brain Mechanics Effected by “Too Much Screen Time”
The following information explains some of the root causes for many of the problems listed above. We provide these details to help you understand WHY spending too much screen time can be hazardous to you and your children’s health. Understanding the mechanics of some of our most important brain processes and how they are negatively effected, will help as you try to counteract the dangers we are all exposed to in this wonderful digital age.
There are many things we can do that will help. Getting up and stretching, walking around, sitting correctly and limiting the amount of time in front of a screen. Let’s face it, we are not going to completely eliminate “screen time” so we need to adapt as best as possible to limit potential damage. There is no history to draw upon for answers as screens are a modern invention, only a handful of decades old. But we can learn from brain science and our understanding of how our bodies work. Once you understand what goes on inside our body when we spend a lot of time in front of digital devices, you will be better equipped to act in ways that lessen the potentially life altering negative side effects. It may take a few readings and study to fully grasp the concepts that follow. It will be worth the effort as the potential negative effects of too much screen time are very real.
The Remarkable Process We Call Human Vision
Watch a little league baseball player hit a home run! Or watch another player run and catch a ball that appeared to be uncatchable. See a player look at a ball, turn, run, and without looking at the ball again, turn back just in time to catch the ball. These are examples of the remarkable process we call Human Vision. They are also a product of training the coordination of all of our body and senses.
When you sit and look at a computer screen, or the screen on a cell phone or tablet, your eyes move, but you do not have to change the converging focus of your eyes. Your body posture changes very little and is held in one position for long periods of time. You can develop warps in your postural system and in the natural and efficient alignment of the spine, neck and shoulders.
Now, stay with me……. In a more natural world, the vestibular system and the visual and postural systems that move and orient the body are constantly changing and adapting in a hightly integarted and dynamic way. Sitting and looking at a computer screen or texting for long periods does not stimulate the multisensory processes that support efficient vision. The flat screen does not stimulate the focusing and converging processes. You adapt by becoming more and more nearsighted over a period of time (difficulties seeing things in the distance). By having too much screen time, you are training your body, posture and senses to have an unnatural mental and physical relationship with the natural physical world. When you walk from one place to another your eyes and your body’s postural systems work together to find, focus, converge and identify where and what you must do to move efficiently through space.
Human Vision is a Multi-Sensory Process
The total body, not just the eyes, are involved in most visual tasks. The vestibular sense keeps the body and the eyes balanced. The motor system aims the eyes and head and positions the body in the most effective balanced state. The eyes find the target of interest; the two eyes converge and focus on the target. If a moving target is a ball, the eyes follow the ball’s trajectory for a short period of time and determine its probable future trajectory. The brain then calculates if the ball can be caught, and if it can, where the body and hands must be in order to intercept and catch the moving ball.
The Learning Breakthrough Program of targeted exercises stimulates the precise focusing and converging of your two eyes. They enhance the integration of one’s visual, motor, vestibular and tactile sensory processes. As one performs the activities, the level of balance that is involved determines the level of integration of the senses. A very important property of the balance board included in the Learning Breakthrough Program is that the balance level can be controlled precisely from an easy level to a very difficult level.
It is easy to see that as you make the balance board more challenging, the brain must react faster and more accurately in order to maintain balance. The activity must be performed more accurately in order to be integrated into the process without disturbing the equilibrium. The Learning Breakthrough activities improve posture and mental processes as well as counteracting the unnatural stress created by working at computers, tablets and cell phones.
How To Use The Program To Help Offset Too Much Screen Time
Performing a 15 minute Learning Breakthrough™ training session immediately after screen time will provide the short term benefit of improving posture and better organized brain processing. You brain will be better able to settle in on studying or other tasks as it will simply work more efficiently. The Learning Breakthrough Program™ has been used by developmental specialist since 1982 to treat learning and attention disorders such as Dyslexia and ADD/ADHD. Daily use for 9 to 12 months makes permanent brain change that improves cognitive functions like reading, speech, handwriting, focus, attention and coordination. The program has been revised to be easy to use at home and is an ideal way to help offset the unintentional negative effects of too much screen time.
The Learning Breakthrough Program™ IS the ultimate brain fitness training. The program is well organized and easy to use. The program ships to your home or office and includes simple instructions and a helpful work along DVD. And, it comes with a 30 day no-questions-asked return policy. Order your Learning Breakthrough Program™ today and start undoing some of the unintentional damage from too much screen time.
