Social technology restriction alters state-anxiety but not autonomic activity in humans

Abstract

Durocher JJ, Lufkin KM, King ME, Carter JR. Social technology restriction alters state-anxiety but not autonomic activity in humans. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 301: R1773-R1778, 2011. First published September 28, 2011 doi:10.1152/ajpregu.00418.2011.-Social technology is extensively used by young adults throughout the world, and it has been suggested that interrupting access to this technology induces anxiety. However, the influence of social technology restriction on anxiety and autonomic activity in young adults has not been formally examined. Therefore, we hypothesized that restriction of social technology would increase state-anxiety and alter neural cardiovascular regulation of arterial blood pressure. Twenty-one college students (age 18 -23 yr) were examined during two consecutive weeks in which social technology use was normal or restricted (randomized crossover design). Mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate, and muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) were measured at rest and during several classic autonomic stressors, including isometric handgrip, postexercise muscle ischemia, cold pressor test, and mental stress. Tertile analysis revealed that restriction of social technology was associated with increases (12 Ϯ 2 au; range 5 to 21; n ϭ 7), decreases (Ϫ6 Ϯ 2 au; range Ϫ2 to Ϫ11; n ϭ 6), or no change (0 Ϯ 0 au; range Ϫ1 to 3; n ϭ 8) in state-anxiety. Social technology restriction did not alter MAP (74 Ϯ 1 vs. 73 Ϯ 1 mmHg), heart rate (62 Ϯ 2 vs. 61 Ϯ 2 beats/min), or MSNA (9 Ϯ 1 vs. 9 Ϯ 1 bursts/min) at rest, and it did not alter neural or cardiovascular responses to acute stressors. In conclusion, social technology restriction appears to have an interindividual influence on anxiety, but not autonomic activity. It remains unclear how repeated bouts, or chronic restriction of social technology, influence long-term psychological and cardiovascular health.arterial blood pressure; cold pressor test; mental stress; muscle sympathetic nerve activity; psychological stress RECENT STUDIES REPORT THAT 95% of young adults in the United States own cellular phones and use them for multiple functions, such as talking, text messaging, and e-mail (22). Additionally, about 94% of college students report having an online social site, such as Facebook (3). The use of social technology has become a primary method of communication for a majority of young adults, and interrupting the use of these technologies can lead to increased levels of anxiety. Such anxiety may negatively influence an individual's health, yet the extent of this potential anxiety has not been adequately quantified.Increased levels of anxiety (21) are among the numerous factors that may significantly contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease. Augmented responses to autonomic stressors can be used as an early predictor of cardiovascular risk (4,10,11,19,20). For example, hypertensive adults demonstrate augmented sympathetic and pressor responses during isometric handgrip (IHG) and postexercise muscle ischemia (PEMI) compared...

Mental stress elicits sustained and reproducible increases in skin sympathetic nerve activity

“…Recent laboratory experiments (Carter and Ray ; Durocher et al. , ,b; Klein et al. ; Ray and Carter ; Schwartz et al.…”

“…Recent laboratory experiments (Carter and Ray 2009;Durocher et al 2009Durocher et al , 2011aKlein et al 2010;Ray and Carter 2010;Schwartz et al 2011;Carter et al 2012;Yang et al 2012) have indicated that the sympathetic nervous system plays a pivotal role in the acute hemodynamic adjustments to mental stress (MS) (i.e., fast-paced verbal mental arithmetic). Heart rate (HR) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) consistently increase during 3-to 5-min bouts of MS whereas muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) responses are variable between subjects (Carter and Ray 2009).…”

Anxiety in children and adolescents

“…Preference for communication via texting, messaging, and email risks reinforcement of any pre-existing social impairments, anxiety, and avoidance, thereby, increasing the likelihood of low mood and compromised wellbeing (Leung, 2011). The interruption of a social technology or delay in responding to received messages have been associated with increased anxiety in young adults, with greater degrees of connection being associated with increased anxiety, depression and dependence (Durocher et al., 2011).…”