Walking and Using a Phone is Bad for Your Health

Spend time on any crowded sidewalk and you’ll see heads bent over and eyes cast downward. One recent study of college students found that a quarter of people crossing intersections     1     (absorb) in a device. That screen in your hand isn’t just distracting your attention. It also changes your mood, your manner of walking and etc. — and affects your ability to get from point A to point B     2     running into trouble.

When you walk and use a phone at the same time, you automatically adjust     3     you move. Video footage of walkers has shown that people on phones walk about 10 percent slower than those undistracted ones. These changes can block traffic on the sidewalk. And     4     walking makes up a big portion of your daily physical activity, walking more slowly may have impacts for your fitness.

Looking down at a smartphone while walking can also increase the amount of force     5     (place) on the neck and upper back muscles, which could reduce balance and increase the risk of falls.

It’s now widely accepted that walking in natural spaces is good for your mental health. It appears that     6     (get) these benefits, it’s important that your attention is on the environment, rather than on your phone.

Most of us understand that walking and using a phone can be risky. Some cities, like Honolulu,     7     (pass) laws to control distracted walkers. But research on those dangers has turned up some surprises. One study has looked at the connection between “phone-related distracted walking” and emergency department visits. Using government data     8     (extend) over the years 2011 to 2019, the researchers turned up nearly 30,000 walking injuries occasioned by phones.

If you’re distracted by a phone, you’re definitely putting     9     at some risk. So how do you stay safe? If you do walk and use your device at the same time, stop when you’re around stairs, crosswalks and messy or uneven ground,     10     accidents are more likely to occur.

We’ve all heard the advice to “get out of your comfort zone” by taking on a new challenge. A recent study goes a step     1     (far): Make discomfort a direct goal. That’s more likely to motivate you than if you focus on     2     you hope to learn.

In the first of five experiments, the researchers assigned several hundred students training at Second City Chicago     3    (participate) in a small-group improvisation(即兴) exercise, and then instructed half of the group that their goal during the session was “to feel     4     (embarrass) and uncomfortable.” The rest, those in the control group,     5     (tell) to “feel yourself developing new skills.” Members of the first group kept at the exercise longer than the others did and took greater risks. Experiments involving other dimensions of higher personal     6     (competent), such as learning about gun violence and hearing about opposing political beliefs,     7     (produce) similar results.

Seeing anxiety as excitement has proved a way to improve singing in front of strangers, and     8     (think) of stress as a means to boost achievement has also been confirmed. “When people reinterpret negative experiences as functional, they are more willing to engage     9     tasks that call forth those experiences,” the researchers explain. “Instead of seeing discomfort as unrelated to the goal     10     a signal to stop, they will start perceiving it as a sign of progress toward their goal.”