How long do you spend on the Computer?

dontstop

Why using a computer can cause depression | Mail Online

I'm looking at about 4-16hrs

networker050184

Are we counting staring at our smart phones as well? If so mine will be significantly higher!

DevilWAH

i assume this is work plus play?

8 at work.

then from about 8/9ish in the evening till the early hours.

But I don's sit in a darkened room hunched over a keyboard at night. I sit watching TV with the wife, or on a lounger in the garden if the weather is good.

MAC_Addy

networker050184 wrote: »

Are we counting staring at our smart phones as well? If so mine will be significantly higher!

Likewise for me, too. I'm at work from 7:15am until 5 - 6pm. Then after that I'm usually answering e-mails on my phone at night.

demonfurbie

ive tired giving it up but i think it a worse addiction than crack

edit:

to get away from a screen at home ive started printing my books out on paper and started getting outside more

DevilWAH

MAC_Addy wrote: »

Likewise for me, too. I'm at work from 7:15am until 5 - 6pm. Then after that I'm usually answering e-mails on my phone at night.

I was answering based on the fact my primary task at the time is working on a PC, rather than having a PC or phone on in the same room while I carry out other tasks.

hiddenknight821

The time spent on the computer is inevitable if you have to do some labbings. That's what I'm doing now.

drkat

I go to work, come home, no PC time unless I'm paying bills/checking the bank or shopping. I was putting in 14 hours a day and found I was extremely irritable and burnt out and had terrible lethargy.. since cutting back my hours my stress level has come down and I'm starting to feel better.

Labbing/Studying etc is a no more for me, I'll make time at work to do it.

ptilsen

Assuming we define computer as a personal computer, meaning a desktop or laptop running a full-blown NOS, I'm probably in the 6-14 range every day. More (8-14) during the weekdays due to work, a bit less on weekends.

What the article talks about is not really news to any doctors specializing in sleep disorders. Computer screens are a known contributing factor to circadian rhythm disorders, specifically delayed sleep phase syndrome (DSPS). Ignoring a sleep disorder and working with insufficient sleep will obviously cause other mental problems, including depression. I've yet to see any research that links computer usage as a direct causal factor in depression -- in this case, it is easily linked as an indirect factor (computer usage > sleeping problems > mental problems).

This is extremely common in this profession, but many people don't bother seeing a doctor about it. I honestly suspect that at least 30% of IT professionals develop DSPS and live with it. If you don't get tired until midnight or later, this is generally a symptom of DSPS (not insomnia, which almost no one has). It is usually environmental, and in our case, it's a professional hazard. If you think this could be you, see a sleep specialist. Treatment is generally simple (but not easy) -- use a bright light (more commonly prescribed for SAD) in the morning and melatonin pills to adjust your sleep phase closer to ideal work hours.

Other things that can help include limiting exposure to artificial light at night. This includes computer screens. Two things that help a little (just a little -- this won't fix the problem) are turning down monitor brightness to the minimum and wearing sunglasses. Yes, sunglasses. At night. Indoors. Any laughter from your family, significant other, or other cohabitants is easily worth the extra sleep and reduced stress.

DevilWAH

For some people though is not going to bed till 2am a problem? the times I have not had a PC and before I had a PC for the first time I was not an early to bed person. (we didn't have a TV in the house for many years so I had almost no screen time at all.) I would walk he dog at 1am just because I enjoyed being out at night.

So while I do agree it is a problem for some people, for other being night owls is just who you are, not an issue and if you fill that time with computers or something else is just how it is.

I think the Stress is the real killer, if you are don't sleep when you are tired, or log on to the PC because you feel you "have to", that's when the issues start.

Roguetadhg

Uh. Yeah... I stare at my landscape of monitors all day.

5am-ish to 10 at night. Every day.

I still follow the sleep cycle as best as possible. If I could get by with 4 hours a night, i'd be happy!

ptilsen

DevilWAH wrote: »

For some people though is not going to bed till 2am a problem? the times I have not had a PC and before I had a PC for the first time I was not an early to bed person.

It's not a problem if you don't need to wake until 9:00am or later. If you need to get up at 6:00am or 7:00am to work an 8:00 to 5:00, it is a problem, whether or not you realize it.

While I note that it's an occupational hazard since we're all likely to use computers at night, I don't want to misconstrue that as being the only cause. Obviously some people choose to stay up for various other reasons. Others have this problem their entire lives -- it is "who you are". And again, if it works well with your life, then it's not a problem. It's when people go chronically sleep-deprived as a result that it becomes a problem.

DevilWAH

That is if you assume you need the average 7-8 hours sleep in a 24hour period. But it is just an average, and people fall out side of this, and some will be at the extremes.

But like you say its the effect that's important not the figures. That's why I dislike these kinds of reports because they turn the science on its head. Rather than saying "if you suffer from depression this is some thing you may want to consider reviewing to see if it applies to you." the report is almost saying "if you spend long ours at you machine expect to become depressed"

On a personal note I have suffered from sever depression during my 20's, depression is not caused by staying up late playing on computers, or indeed through sleep deprivation. It is much more likely to in my view that the people who are in various stages of depression are more likely to fill there time with things to take there mind of there lives. So rather then cause depression I think it is simply some thing that goes hand in hand with the depressed mind.

I bet if you took the opposite approach and looked to see how Computers help people recover from depression you could find similar results.

mikeybikes

Interesting.

Though, I've never had any problems with sleeping. I stare at a computer screen all day and go to bed at 10pm and wake up at 6am. My wife calls me old (I'm 26).

Depression, though, has plagued me from time to time.

NetworkVeteran

Too bad there's no "round-the-clock" option. My iPhones are w/ me unless I'm bathing or.. well, my girlfriend sometimes makes me turn it off or gives me mean looks until I do!

The problem is not just sitting in front of a computer but the fact that people don't take a break

Full stop. I suspect my problem is taking too many breaks..

'People are not interacting with each other and the longer you do that, the less work meets your social needs

..and too much interacting.

Tackle

I think every single person in my office spends at least 7 out of their 8 hour days staring at a PC screen. Many are pushing close to 10 hours a day.

I know myself that I am here from 8-5 and if I leave my desk to do something other than go sit at another screen, the only thing I do is to use the restroom or eat.

I spend at least 2 hours a night on my laptop when I'm home, labbing, researching or catching up. This does not count the time I spend looking at my phone/tablet, which is pretty much anytime in between that I am not outside (only really go outside and do things on the weekends).

Besides this last week (quit tobacco), I sleep fairly well, I know I function the best with 6-7 hours of sleep. I cannot sleep longer than that no matter how tired I am, what kind of rituals I do before bed, or even if I have nothing to do the next day.

SteveLord

Probably no less than 4 hours at work. And then about the same at home for game time.

MickQ

Usually about 8 hours per day. Between work and study at home, it adds up. I'm really surprised that today I've managed to get away with only 3 hours. All the more surprising because I was the only (usually several) sys/network admin in the place today.

al3kt.R***

Too long, but never enough ...

I think it's really important to take (long or short) breaks, otherwise it easily becomes an obsession.

One might also state their own worst-case, continuous, non-stop session (not even for basics like water, toilet, food, cigarette etc) records to really measure one's "addiction":

I've "managed" to complete 5hour non-stop courses several times in the past either for leisure or work; after some careful reconsideration over the years of working/goofing around with a computer, I nowadays always take 5 minute breaks away from the PC every workhour and also rest eyes and back every 15 minutes for a minute or so. I also never neglect or ignore basic human needs anymore

Take care people

Iristheangel

I sit at my desk at work from 5AM-5PM but I take a lunch break and often have to get up to run over to someone's cubicle for something. When I get home at night after fighting traffic, I'll usually sit at my computer for an hour or two more. I'm more active on the weekends but when I think about how long I spend in front of a computer weekly, I think most non-technies would think it's sad.

Roguetadhg

They just don't understand us, Irish!

drkat

For me as I stated earlier - I'll go to bed at 1am and get up at 6 to get up and go to work. I enjoyed working nights when I did but then I never spent any time on the PC at that job when I got home, I'd usually go out and do something and go to bed around 4AM.

For me I do suffer from anxiety disorder so I'm going to assume the lack of sleep + information overload == overwhelmed kitty which eventually leads to anxiousness and stress. I remember when I was a teen however, I'd spend 20 hours on the computer and never feel a thing... guess the realities of adult hood sank in and my behavior has changed.

I've always been a night owl though and honestly hate working mornings Too bad all the "normal" people are up during the day heh.


I also have a problem with small screens and font sizes.. my eyes get very tired.. to the point of restlessness. I also NEED a keyboard tray, I have cubital tunnel so my sh** is all f'd up.. so if I go without a keyboard tray at a hard desk for a few hours I've got neck problems, arm issues, and then chest/back muscles killing me... damn get the duct tape, I'm falling apart.

I'll run 120dpi in XP/7 and 150% on IE most of the time along with a 23" monitor at work.

All though a laptop w/ 14" screen at the kitchen table doesnt bother me?? go figure...

Rakurai

Well....... I have already seen a sleep doctor for my sleeping problems, and for a short time the ambien was working... ok I guess. I have had sleeping problems since my first NTC rotation, working on night shift. Long story short... sleeping in a tent that is well over 85 degrees is pretty hard to sleep in. That was in 07. Sleeping in Iraq was ok, until about 7 AM when the mortars would rain in.... for 3 months straight. Fast forward 2 years to Afghanistan.... was nice. I had no set schedule, I did what I want, as long as all my equipment was working... and nobody woke me up at 1am because they were too lazy to fix there equipment, or didn't care, or didn't know how because they didn't care to learn.

Now its even brutal, 12 hours staring at monitors, or tv because there is nothing else better to do at work. Rotating between day and night shift every 2 months... even worse for a sleep schedule. As the doctor said, the 3 hours that I get when I am able to get to sleep is because my body is so tired that it just shuts off... and after that initial 3 hours I wake up every 30 minutes or so... so yea.... my sleep routine has been messed up for the past 5 years, and it doesn't look like it will be getting any better. I enjoy my 2 hour gym time during work though, but since I came back from leave on the 19th, and going into night shift, I have not had the energy to do my 30+ mile bike rides because the lack of energy..... I foresee another visit to the doctor soon.

Gotta love the military life....

Psoasman

Probably around 10-12 hours/day. I minimize computer time at home for my family. I'm blessed to be able to work on school at work, so that helps a lot.

dontstop

Was talking with an old workmate last night about the issue, A major problem is the perception that being on a Computer is working and anything else is not. So you have people just sitting at their desk and just grinding away doing nothing really that productive. Our Office is typically quiet all day long, people are doing a bit or work and a lot of net cruising. We are not lazy, it's just a byproduct of the industry.