The office has found yet another way to kill you.

By now, we know that sitting all day is terrible for our health, but new research says that email is also a risk. About 80 percent of people in a study by Linda Stone, a former top researcher at Microsoft, suffer from what she calls “email apnea.” Similar to sleep apnea, people with the condition outlined by Stone hold their breath or otherwise interrupt their breathing patterns while they read email.

Stone conducted the research over a six to seven month period, observing and interviewing more than 200 people in their homes, offices, and cafes.

Here’s more on the study from Business Insider:

“In Stone's research, she also found that there's a strong relationship between breath-holding and the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve is responsible for mediating the autonomic nervous system, which includes the sympathetic (‘fight or flight’) and the parasympathetic (‘rest and digest’) nervous systems.

“The problem with holding your breath while checking email is that it puts your body in ‘fight or flight’ mode, which shoots up your heart rate, and causes the liver to pour glucose and cholesterol into the bloodstream.”

You can read more about Stone’s study here. In the meantime, breathe!

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