{"id":520908,"date":"2026-06-05T23:59:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T23:59:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/520908\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T23:59:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T23:59:11","slug":"are-you-suffering-from-email-apnea-here-are-the-signs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/520908\/","title":{"rendered":"Are You Suffering From ‘Email Apnea’? Here Are The Signs."},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019ve ever noticed that your breath feels off after you receive an unexpected email or while trying to draft a perfect reply, you may be dealing with \u201cemail apnea,\u201d a common occurrence for those who rely on email for work or other high-stress endeavors. <\/p>\n

\u201cEmail apnea is an informal term used to describe the unconscious tendency some of us have to temporarily pause our breathing or breathe more shallowly while we\u2019re locked in to what\u2019s happening on our screens,\u201d Carrie Howard<\/a>, a licensed clinical social worker and anxiety coach<\/a>, told HuffPost via email.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s often related to concentration or the stress or pressure we feel around completing a task. It\u2019s not only specific to email. We can also do this when we\u2019re texting, scrolling or engaging in other forms of intense work,\u201d Howard said. <\/p>\n

When this breath-holding phenomenon happens during texting or scrolling, it\u2019s colloquially referred to as \u201cscreen apnea.\u201d It\u2019s also sometimes referred to as \u201claptop apnea,\u201d said Jamie Janko, founder of ReWild Breathwork<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something that so many of us do when we are using a computer or laptop,\u201d Janko said. \u201cEssentially what\u2019s happening there is our attention is narrowing, we\u2019re leaning toward the screen and what we\u2019re looking at, too, is through the lens of the nervous system. The body really reads this as almost a threat, and it braces.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first thing that happens when you brace for something? You hold your breath, Janko noted. It\u2019s like those memes on social media that say something like<\/a>, \u201cUnfortunately, my nervous system doesn\u2019t understand the difference between an incoming email and a tiger chasing me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Danica Harris<\/a>, a somatic therapist and coach based in Texas, added, \u201cWhen we are preparing for something, a lot of times we are going into an energy conservation mode.\u201d Email notifications, along with things like an unexpected update on social media cause a \u201cchronic bracing\u201d in our systems.<\/p>\n

When it comes to incoming emails, there\u2019s also a preparatory feeling of \u201cdid I do something wrong?\u201d or \u201cwhat is the email sender going to ask of me?\u201d that plays into this and exasperates the shallow breathing or held breath, according to Harris.<\/p>\n

\"\u201cEmail<\/p>\n

draganab via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cEmail apnea is a reminder that all that stress you experience doesn\u2019t just live up in your mind. It also shows up in your body too, even when you don\u2019t realize it,” said Carrie Howard.<\/p>\n

Shallow breaths can heighten anxiety.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shallow breathing into your chest, as opposed to deep belly breaths, tells our nervous system to stay in fight or flight, which is the body\u2019s physiological response to stress, said Janko. <\/p>\n

More, when your breath is shallow, which can happen when you\u2019re stressed or when you start breathing after holding your breath, your heart rate increases, Harris said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHumans tend to code increased heart rate as activation and as anxiety,\u201d Harris explained. Anxiety<\/a>, along with shallow breathing, then causes our heart rate to increase. \u201cAnd if that\u2019s happening, then we\u2019re not going to be aware of other things that are happening in our body, so then tension is more likely to rise.\u201d<\/p>\n

You may clench your jaw, clench your fists or raise your shoulders, she said. These are all signs of your body responding to internal tension. \u201cHolding your breath, even subconsciously keeps your body and mind in a hypervigilant state,\u201d Howard added.<\/p>\n

Since work stress often follows you throughout the day, you may notice that you\u2019re often holding your breath even when you aren\u2019t checking an email. Or, you may notice that you\u2019re \u201cchronically tense or constricted,\u201d Howard said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis can lead to fatigue, headaches, muscle tension or feeling keyed up and on edge,\u201d Howard said. \u201cYou may also find yourself letting out big sighs periodically, [which is] your body\u2019s way of trying to help … restore its normal breathing rhythm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA counter to this physiological stress is often mindfulness or a somatic practice, and it\u2019s because the goal is to slow down breathing, to get a deeper breath, to get oxygen throughout the body,\u201d Harris added. This allows someone to pay attention to their entire body instead of subconsciously focusing on activation in the chest or a high heart rate.<\/p>\n

The body then feeds on this stress response. \u201cThe more we\u2019re in a highly activated state, the more often we\u2019re holding our breath, the worse that becomes because we just become completely disconnected from our full body,\u201d Harris said.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how to prioritize your breath when you read an email, write an email or get any kind of digital notification.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you notice that you hold your breath when responding to an email or have shallow breaths when getting a notification on your phone, that is OK. It\u2019s a normal response, Harris said, and not one you should be ashamed of. Nonetheless, it\u2019s a response that isn\u2019t great for our brains or bodies.<\/p>\n

The first step in making change is awareness, Janko said, \u201cand then just starting to notice when you do hold your breath.\u201d<\/p>\n

You may find that you do it when an email comes in, when you get a Facebook<\/a> notification or even when you\u2019re moving through a difficult in-person conversation, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we want to talk about our \u2018email apnea,\u2019 specifically, notice your breath the next time you open your email,\u201d Janko said. \u201cMost people are going to find that they probably have started to hold their breath.\u201d<\/p>\n

To combat this, take a full exhale before opening the email, put both feet on the ground, unclench your jaw and fully pay attention to what is happening in your body, Janko added.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not about necessarily bringing in a technique here, it\u2019s really about bringing in awareness that this is something that that your body has learned to do over time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

You can also try coherent breathing, which is breathing in through the nose for five seconds and out through the nose for five seconds, Janko said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis can be such a lifesaver in so many ways,\u201d she noted. It helps bring awareness to your breath and retrain your breath to be deeper, fuller and go into the diaphragm and not just shallowly go into the chest, Janko noted. Shallow breaths into the chest keep us in a heightened, stressful state, she added.<\/p>\n

It can also be helpful to take breaks from work by going for a short walk or taking a few minutes to stretch, Howard said.<\/p>\n

Technology makes a lot of things feel like a crisis when they\u2019re not. Most updates coming in through email are neutral, yet it can be hard to remember this.<\/p>\n

\u201cEmail apnea is a reminder that all that stress you experience doesn\u2019t just live up in your mind,\u201d Howard said. \u201cIt also shows up in your body, too, even when you don\u2019t realize it.\u201d<\/p>\n