As the end of 2014 approaches, many of us are thinking about what changes we're going to make come Jan. 1 to be healthier and happier. Those looking for ways to reduce their stress level in 2015 may want to consider adopting a New Year's resolution to limit how often they check their email throughout the day.
A study (subscription required) recently published in Computers in Human Behavior suggests that there are psychological benefits to easing up on the number of times you click your inbox. For the experiment, researchers at the University of British Columbia instructed half the participants to read emails no more than three times a day for a week, while a second group was allowed to check their inbox as often as they wished. The groups' instructions were then reversed the following week. New York Magazine reports:
Overall, "limiting the number of times people checked their email per day lessened tension during a particularly important activity and lowered overall day-to-day stress," the researchers write, and was associated with various other positive measures of psychological well-being. Those who checked their email a lot also didn't perceive themselves as any more productive than those who were on an email diet.
...This study, combined with a lot of prior research into things like the distractions imposed by task-switching, paint a pretty clear picture: Ceaselessly checking your email probably isn't making you more productive, and it probably is making you more stressed.
Previously: What email does to your brain
Photo by Ian Lamont
