Why Constant Notifications are Bad for your Mental Health?

The other day, my phone buzzed for the 47th time (yes, I counted), and I found myself staring at yet another notification about someone liking a photo of my breakfast from three weeks ago.

That's when it hit me - we've become a generation that treats notifications like oxygen, gasping at every ping, buzz, and ding that comes our way.

Remember when the most disruptive notification in our lives was our mom calling us for dinner? Now, our phones have become that overenthusiastic friend who just won't stop talking - except this friend lives in our pocket and has an endless supply of coffee.

Let's talk about what these constant digital taps on our shoulders are actually doing to our brains.

Every time our phone buzzes, our brain releases cortisol - the stress hormone that's supposed to help us escape from bears, not react to someone sharing a cat meme in the office group chat.

This constant state of alertness has a name in psychology - it's called "continuous partial attention." Unlike multitasking, where we choose to divide our attention, this is a state of being permanently on-call, our nervous system always slightly activated, ready to respond. It's like being in a perpetual first date - anxious, alert, and unable to fully relax.

And here's the kicker: we receive anywhere between 60 to 80 notifications daily, with some unfortunate souls getting bombarded with up to 200.

The real problem isn't just the interruption - it's what happens in our brain during these micro-moments.

Research from the University of California suggests that it takes an average of 23 minutes to fully regain focus after an interruption.

It's like your brain has a tiny "delete recent history" button that gets pressed every time your phone dings.

The dopamine hits we get from these notifications are turning us into digital addicts. We're like Pavlov's dogs, except instead of salivating at a bell, we're compulsively checking our phones at phantom vibrations.

Studies show that this notification bombardment can trigger symptoms similar to ADHD. It's like we're all becoming goldfish with smartphones, except goldfish probably have better attention spans than we do at this point.The impact on our mental health is more severe than we realize.

I feel this constant connectivity is making us less connected in real life. We're so busy responding to virtual notifications that we're missing the actual notifications of life happening around us.

So what's the solution?

It’s not necessarily a complete digital detox.

That's about as realistic as suggesting we solve climate change by never using electricity again. Instead, it's about reclaiming our attention spans through mindful technology use.

Start small.

Try turning off notifications for apps that don't involve real human interaction.Create designated notification-free times. Train your brain to distinguish between what's urgent and what's just masquerading as urgent.

Research shows that batching notifications just three times a day can significantly improve your mood, attention, and productivity. (And hey, your anxiety will thank you for this)

Just like you wouldn't eat dinner in your bathroom, create specific spaces where notifications are allowed to exist. Maybe your work email notifications only live on your laptop, not your phone.

What you're doing is creating boundaries that even your most notification-happy apps must respect.

The next step should be redefining your relationship with response time. That compulsion to reply within 15 minutes (yes, that's the average response time for most of us - yikes!) isn't serving anyone, especially not your mental health.

Just because someone sent you a message at lightning speed doesn't mean you need to reply at the same pace.

By following these practices, you're establishing boundaries that even your most notification-happy apps must respect.

After all, in this endless notification marathon we're running, maybe the real finish line isn't about how fast we can respond, but how well we can protect our peace.

So, next time your phone buzzes, ask yourself: Is this notification serving me, or am I serving it?

Your answer might just be the first step toward digital liberation. Or at least toward finishing this article without checking your phone three times.

(P.S. Yes, I checked my phone twice while writing this.)