LESSON 1

“MODERN HEALTH PROBLEMS”

a. Before-reading activities

1. Answer this question in your notebook: Have you ever experienced health problems caused by your
lifestyle? Which ones?

2. Find the meaning of these concepts in a dictionary and write them down in your notebook:
a. peril
b. gripping
c. pain relief
d. turn-off
e. eyestrain
f. glance
g. loudness
h. stint
i. bum
j. saddle

b. While-reading activities

1. Read the text. Answer these questions in your notebook (use your own words when necessary):
a. How can a person get “text claw”?
b. What is the best solution for information fatigue syndrome?
c. According to experts, what is the cause of phantom phone vibration?
d. What is “accommodation”?
e. How can the light of a cellphone keep you awake at night?
f. Why can it be dangerous to listen to loud music with your headphones?
g. What can you do to avoid numb dum?

c. After-reading activities

1. Answer these questions in your notebook:

a. Have you ever experienced any of the symptoms mentioned in the text? Which ones?
b. How can we keep healthy in this modern life?
 7 HEALTH PROBLEMS CAUSED BY MODERN LIFE: HOW MANY DO YOU
HAVE?

We are healthier and living longer than ever before. But 21st-century lifestyles bring their own perils. So,
how many of these modern health problems do you have?

1. Text claw
Text claw can affect frequent mobile users, resulting in wrist pain,
thumb tenderness, hand spasms and difficulty with gripping.
Better known among doctors as “De Quervain syndrome”, text claw
is a type of repetitive strain injury (RSI). The thumb is painful to
straighten due to inflamed tendons.
The condition can usually be remedied by taking time out from
thumb-intensive activities, applying ice to the area and taking pain
relief if required.

2. Information fatigue syndrome

Life in the ‘information age’ can feel like weathering a never-
ending storm of digital distractions, from 24-hour television to
mobile phone messages and full email inboxes.
This amount of information is equivalent to trying to read 174
newspapers every day, researchers say.
It can cause information fatigue syndrome – also known as
information overload – leading to anxiety, poor concentration,
indecision – and a compulsion to check your messages.
Take control of technological devices, rather than letting them
control you.

3. Phantom phone vibration

Smartphone users typically receive about 50 alerts per day for
calls, messages and social media updates.
Sometimes, though, people experience an apparently
vibrating phone from a pocket. About 90% of mobile owners
say they’ve experienced this phantom phone vibration.
According to Dr Robert Rosenberger, of the Georgia Institute
of Technology in Atlanta: “Mobiles are somehow changing our
brains, making us feel inclined to feel these vibrations.”
 4. 3D viewing sickness
Movies and TV in 3D can be a turn-off, making some viewers suffer
from eyestrain, headaches or nausea.
Normally when we see an object getting closer to us, our eyes
rotate inwards to focus on it in a process called “accommodation”.
When watching a 3D film, our eyes focus on an area in front of the
screen, making everything momentarily blurry, which for anyone
with less than perfectly aligned eyes or not sitting directly in front
of the screen can lead to felling nausea and headache.

5. Blue light insomnia

A tiny biological clock, no bigger than a grain of rice, ticks
continuously in a brain region called the “suprachiasmatic
nucleus” just behind the eyes. It tells your body when it is time
to wake, time to eat, time to work and time to sleep.
Because modern LED screens and smartphone displays emit
some of the same blue light as found in normal daylight, a few
glances can be enough to cause levels of the powerful sleep
hormone “melatonin” to fall rapidly.
Then it’s goodbye dream time, and hello insomnia.
The easiest and most effective answer to a good night’s sleep
is to leave the phone out of the bedroom after dark.

6. Headphones induced hearing loss

Half of all people aged 12–35 regularly listen to music
through headphones at levels above 85 decibels – the
equivalent of a microwave beep – for prolonged periods.
Exposure to sound at this level for more than a few minutes
damages the delicate sound-sensing hair cells deep within
the ear. They can’t be repaired once destroyed.
Experts recommend volume should be turned up to no
higher than 60% of a personal audio device’s maximum
loudness. And listening to music through headphones
should be limited to one-hour stints.

7. Cyclist’s bum
Two million Britons saddle up once a week, and it’s a great way
to get fit. But it can also have potential health issues. One such
condition is ‘numb bum’ – or peroneal nerve compression.
Research shows 61% of male and 34% of female cyclists are
affected. Adjusting saddle angle, height and handlebar position
can help shift weight away from the vital nerves.
Former Tour de France cyclist Daniel Lloyd says: “Taking a few
seconds pedalling out of the saddle every few minutes can allow
the blood to flow and alleviate pain.”