Have you heard of screen or email apnoea?
Have you heard of screen or email apnoea?Before you read this, stop! …And check: how are you breathing?
When I mention screen apnoea to clients, most of them haven’t come across it before.
And I believe it’s a big deal – not only for our health, but also specifically for high-performance communication goals.
Scenario – think of it like this:
1. You’re working away at your presentation or report which you’re presenting in a few hours time. And because you’re focusing hard on your screen, you’re probably either holding your breath or shallow breathing.
2. This puts you into low-level fight/flight/freeze. Which hangs around and increases as you continue to focus. Your cortisol rises, so does your sympathetic nervous system activity.
3. When it’s time to present, your already elevated stress levels increase even faster than they would anyway, because your system is primed and already in ‘threat’ mode.
My own experience
I’m definitely one of these people – breath-holding or super-shallow ‘sips’ of breath when focusing on work on my desktop. And I’m not a great breather anyway.
Even worse on my phone! The narrower the focus, typically the worse we breathe, as our vision ‘tunnels’.
And a big issue for me: tongue clamped to the roof of my mouth – when I’m under pressure, this needs constant vigilance.
The more I’ve learned about this issue, the more keen I am for people to know just how much of a problem it can be.
How it works
Coined by former Microsoft executive Linda Stone, “email apnoea” describes the unconscious habit of holding your breath—or breathing more shallowly—while reading and responding to messages.
“Screen apnoea” expands the idea to our broader relationship with digital devices.
These patterns are increasingly supported by research on screen time, stress physiology, sleep disruption, and workplace productivity.
The data suggest that what may not seem that bad, may in fact be having measurable effects on our bodies and brains.
Want some bad stats?
A 2025 report from Eyesafe projects that a child born in 2025 will spend 21 years of their life—over 181,000 hours—looking at screens, representing more than 40% of their waking hours (eyesafe.com).
Among adults, Pew Research has found that 41% of U.S. adults report being online “almost constantly,” rising to 62% among those aged 18 to 29 (heart.org).
[These are U.S. stats, as I couldn’t find meaningful data from Australia up to this point.]
How breath-holding impacts us
Screen apnoea operates on a micro level. When concentrating on emails, social media, or news feeds, many of us unconsciously tense our jaw, lean forward, and restrict our breathing.
This feeds into our physiology and psychology.
A landmark Microsoft Research study using biosensors and computer logging found that the more time employees spent on email, the lower their perceived productivity and the higher their stress levels (microsoft.com).
Difficulty focusing mediated this relationship, suggesting that email overload fragments attention.
And this is just one study. There’s a whole raft of research coming through, none of it pretty.
Email apnoea is therefore not just about breathing—it reflects a deeper cognitive strain tied to sheer volume, need for speed, and blurred work-life boundaries.
Solutions
Most importantly, and I nearly always mention this one: self-awareness is always the first step.
Start to notice what your body and breath are doing as you stare at your screen.
I have a post-it note on my desktop – moved around every few days so I don’t stop seeing it – saying “breathe, sit up!”
Simply noticing your breathing while reading emails or working on that report – plus relaxing your shoulders, unclenching your jaw, inhaling deeply—may counteract the stress loop.
I hope this is useful for you: and if you’re already aware of it, a good reminder.
I also made a short video post on this about a year ago, if you’d like to watch instead.
Step Up | Be Heard | Stand Out
