#revisin While it may seem essential to constantly check the smartphone for important emails, people who frequently scan their inboxes are more likely to suffer from stress throughout the day, finds a new study.

Kushlev and a group of UBC researchers recruited 124 adults to participate in a two-week experiment.

During the first week, which consisted of five business days, half of the group were asked to turn off alerts and emails with a check limit of three times a day; while the other half were encouraged to log in to check their inboxes as often as they wanted. At the end of each day, participants answered a series of questions about their stress levels and general mood. After a week, the two groups changed.

Participants with unlimited access to email reported that they felt superior daily stress and a lot of tension.

They answered the following questions: How often have you felt like you couldn't control the important things in your life?

How often have you felt nervous and stressed?

How many times have you found that you couldn't cope with all the things you had to do?

How many times have you been enraged by things that were beyond your control?

Email checks are (hard to resist) And it wasn't easy for participants to reduce their email verification habits, says Kushlev.

Those who had been allowed to do so checked their email inboxes 13 times a day, although the research warned that many people probably half-reported on that number. Meanwhile, people limited to three times a day did so at an extra average of 45 to five daily checks. “Even though it's hard to resist the temptation to check your email often, there may be a benefit to be gained when you do,” he says.


And you, how often do you check your email?

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