I came across an article in National Geographic from a few months ago. It's called "The Secret to a Long, Healthy Life: Your lifespan is overrated. It's health span that really matters now." It's about longevity and what some people call health span. Health span, as opposed to lifespan, refers to the period of life when you are healthy. We all hope we won't end our lives in an extended illness or disability that impacts our quality of life, and, as I usually say in the opening, my goal is to live a long, healthy, happy, active life right up to the very end.

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In the last few episodes, we've been talking about how our digital devices can affect our health. Today, we're continuing that in this, the fifth and final episode of the series. If the last few episodes have felt a little heavy—don't worry. This one's all about solutions. We're talking about how to reclaim your time, your focus, and your peace of mind in a world that's always online. From eye strain to endless scrolling, we're going to explore simple, science-backed strategies to help you reset your relationship with screens—without going off the grid.

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Happy New Year! This is our first episode of 2026. I hope you had a great 2025 and are ready to accomplish great things this year. For me, it's always a moment of disbelief that another year has passed, seemingly so quickly, but I'm determined this year to pack everything good that I can into the stream of life.

Well, I'm out on the Spring Creek Trail, north side, today. And it looks pretty different from the last time here. The main difference is that the construction site is completely gone. I mean, the construction is gone, but the site, obviously, remains. It is very different. And no video today. One reason is that it's dark. But the trail is actually lighted now. It might have been for a while. It probably has, but I haven't been out here in a while.

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So why is it fun to drive a car? Scientifically, I mean. The most apt word I can think of to describe the feeling of driving a fast car on a curvy road is exhilaration. Biologically, this is caused by a combination of neurotransmitters and hormones, primarily dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine (also known as adrenaline). These chemicals, when combined, create a feeling of joy, excitement, and increased alertness. Dopamine drives the reward system and is released in response to novel and exciting stimuli. Adrenaline and norepinephrine, on the other hand, prepare the body for action by increasing energy levels through a surge in heart rate, blood pressure, and blood flow to muscles. This neurochemical flood, triggered by events like risky play or falling in love, stimulates various brain systems to produce the psychological experience of intense, pleasurable excitement.

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Photo by Amy Patrick

We're in the middle of a series about Screentime and Your Health. And by the way, you can access the entire series on a YouTube playlist called Screentime and Health. You can find it on my channel at YouTube.com/@runningafever. We've already enlightened ourselves on two aspects of this topic: sedentary life and sleep effects. Today, we're moving on to how screen time affects our brains.

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This series, "Screentime and Your Health," highlights the health risks of overusing electronic devices. I think I was previously unaware of the dangers involved. But I'm starting to get the picture. In the last episode, we discussed how excessive screen time can hinder our ability to lead an active life by making us more sedentary and decreasing our motivation to be physically active.

This is part two of the series, focusing on the topic of "Screens vs. Sleep."

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As usual, when I'm finding topics for the show, I started hearing about how screen time should be limited and maybe we should all be wearing glasses that block out "blue light." Why? There are screens everywhere now. At work, you have at least one, maybe more, computer screens; I have three. Plus the smartphone, which goes everywhere with you. How about the TV you turn on when you get home from work? Even when working out, we have screens on our exercise bikes or treadmills that show us stats or video that lets us imagine we're outside somewhere, or let us watch the news while we sweat. Maybe your kids play video games for hours on end. Screens are everywhere, and we use them because we think they are helpful or entertaining. So they have just become a part of life. They are ubiquitous. However, if there is something unhealthy about them, it could impact our whole lives, and the impact could be significant. So I set about digging into this concept and trying to find out the real deal.

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