7-Time Olympia Arnold Schwarzenegger Unveils the Harsh Reality of How Social Media Affects Your Health

Brandon Gabriel Isaacs
|Published

Even at the age of 76, former bodybuilding champion, Arnold Schwarzenegger does not depend on social media to read his daily news. Knowing the effects social media can have on one’s health, Arnold gets his news by reading two newspapers in the morning and watching the local TV news. 

Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn’t feel it is necessary to be updated by the hour, and hence he doesn’t use much social media.
In his newsletter, he writes about the same, and the effects social media usage brings upon one’s health. The Austrian Oak, who looks out for his fellow village members, shares a warning through his recent newsletter on continuous social media use. 

Arnold writes that it is a no-brainer to everyone that social media can predominantly make you less productive, and less positive, and decrease your happiness and even your strength. Therefore, in recent studies, researchers suggest that to improve your health and longevity, scroll less than usual.

“New research suggests that social media use could contribute to chronic inflammation.”

We all require inflammation, despite being considered negative. It protects our body from various illnesses or diseases and it is a natural protective reaction to stress and damage.

However, Chronic inflammation is distinct from that. If one ever experiences chronic inflammation, this means your body begins to break down and you become overstressed. 

“Chronic inflammation is tied to high stress, loneliness, poor diet, and a lack of exercise or sleep. And it is linked to cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and mental health conditions.”

When previous studies were conducted researchers suggested that social media led to short-term increases in inflammation. It was not considered much of a health concern back then, according to Arnold. However, studies that were recently conducted prove differently. 

Arnold cites that in the new research conducted, a screen time app was used to measure how much time people spent on social media. They then took blood samples to assess the C-reactive protein, of these individuals, which is a common measure of inflammation. 

“The researchers found that those who spent the most time on social media had the highest levels of inflammation after five weeks.” 

Therefore, spending extra hours on social media is not ideal for you and it increases your inflammation levels. This could lead to various health problems for individuals in their later years. Arnold, who understands that lessening the usage of social media isn’t easy, hence shares a few tips on how to start small. 

  • Begin your day regularly without social media. 
  • Before you go to sleep or enter your bedroom, cut off from it. 
  • Don’t use social media before you head for your workout.

In conclusion, Arnold mentions that no one needs to get off social media completely. The idea is to use less of it to improve your health and you could witness it benefiting your health further on. 

Dimly lit rooms aren’t the safest place to get sleep, Arnold Schwarzenegger reveals why

Arnold, ensures his fellow followers are updated about many health tips shared through his newsletter. He advises his village members to never sleep in a dimly lit room, to avoid heart-related issues.

This can lead to an increase in insulin levels and damage to our hearts without our awareness. Researchers have shared that nightlight can affect our circadian rhythms and cause health distress. 

This circadian rhythm misalignment can develop many cardiovascular, metabolic, and psychological problems. Other studies also showed how people who slept in these types of rooms had higher heart rates. Hence, Arnold recommends bringing down the blue light hours before sleep and keeping the room as dark as you can.


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About the author

Brandon Gabriel Isaacs

Brandon Gabriel Isaacs

Brandon Gabriel Isaacs is a US Sports Editor at The SportsRush. With a Master's degree in Journalism and Communication, he holds a background in content creation and editing. An avid cricket enthusiast and a sports buff, Brandon decided to quit his work stint with ed-tech content creation to finally jump into the world of sports editing and supervision. His unrelenting passion for sports has backed him to edit content pieces of American Sports ranging from Swimming and Gymnastics to Equestrianism. He seeks inspiration from personalities like Michael Phelps, Lyndsey Vonn, Sunisa Lee and Sir Mark Todd. Being a national level Table Tennis player himself, he hopes to hone this long lost skill and start playing again. Outside the study desk, Brandon is a lover of photography, race cars and travelling.

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