Internet Addiction Can Weaken Your Immunity, Study

Too much time on the Internet can make your immune system weak. You could catch a cold or the flu, a new study has claimed, according to indianexpress.

Scientists from Swansea and Milan Universities said that internet addicts are more exposed to risks of illnesses. They studied 500 people aged 18 to 101 years old. Among these people, the overusers were more in danger of colds and flu.

About 40 per cent of the samples reported "mild or worse levels of internet addiction", which remained the same for both men and women.

The bigger addicts were the ones who got 30 per cent more cold and flu symptoms than the milder internet users.

The ones with deeper addiction also go through more "sleep deprivation, worse eating habits and less healthy diets, engage in less exercise, and also tend to smoke and drink alcohol more," said the report.

Hence, it wears down the immunity of persons.

"We found that the impact of the internet on people's health was independent of a range of other factors, like depression, sleep deprivation, and loneliness, which are associated with high levels of internet use and also with poor health," said Professor Phil Reed of Swansea University.

The addicts also feel more stressed out when they suspend their usage, while their levels of cortisol, a hormone influencing immunity, also gets affected.

"It may also be that those who spend a long time alone on the internet experience reduced immune function as a result of simply not having enough contact with others and their germs," said Reed.

Some people use the internet for six hours, while many tend to use it for 10 hours . Women use the internet more for social media and shopping, while men tend to go into gaming and pornography sites.

"The results on internet usage, apart from being gender stereotypical, were not connected to its impact on immune function," Professor Roberto Truzoli from Milan University said.

"It does not seem to matter what you use it for, if you use it too much, you are more susceptible to illness. However, the mechanisms responsible for you getting ill may differ, depending on how you use the net," said Truzoli.