A health guru is sounding the alarm about 'screen apnea' and is urging tech users to check their breathing habits before it's too late. The term, which was first coined by ex-Microsoft executive Linda Stone in 2007 after she noticed a widespread but often unnoticed habit affecting people during screen time. In conversation with Manoush Zomorodi on NPRs Body Electric podcast, Linda recounted her own realization of the issue, saying, "Once I got to my computer I was either holding my breath for long periods of time or breathing shallowly.

As the emails would stream in I would inhale, because we inhale in anticipation, but I wouldn't exhale because so many emails would be streaming in." To confirm her suspicions, Linda carried out an informal study where volunteers wore an ear clip monitoring heart rate and breathing patterns as they used their computers. From processing email deluges to simply surfing the net, the research discovered that nearly everyone's breathing was disrupted by technology , except for individuals such as seasoned military pilots, athletes, and performing artists who maintained a regular breathing rhythm while engaged with screens.

Linda pointed out that these were "people who had learned to breathe and do something at the time as part of their training" and came up with the term screen apnea because she "wanted to communicate is that there was disturbed breathing when we are in front of our screens". She noticed that a big reason is posture, observing how .