Too much information can make you sick
By Jan Matthews, Chatelaine, Nov. 98

Look around any office and you'll probably see somebody talking on the phone while reading E-mail or surfing the Internet while faxes roll in. These days, information comes at us from all directions. We feel we need it to keep up. But too much information can play havoc with our health.

How can you tell whether you've had too much? British psychologist Dr. David Lewis, who analyzed a study of information overload in more than 1,000 business managers, says the symptoms of information fatigue syndrome include wasting time, delaying decisions, making poor decisions, drawing flawed conclusions and blaming others. You might experience irritability, increased anxiety and self doubt "When your brain is overloaded," says Larry Rosen, a professor of psychology at California State University and coauthor of TechnoStress (John Wiley & Sons), a book about coping with technology, "it doesn't get to focus on one thing for long enough. It can't put the pieces together." The result, he says, is a revved up nervous system that can lead to poor sleep, a weakened immune system, indigestion, heart problems and hypertension.

To keep the flow of information from flooding you out, Rosen and coauthor Michelle Weil suggest taking time away from information and the technology that delivers it. Filter out information by discarding whatever is not immediately relevant to the task at hand and focusing on one thing at a time.

Information is infinite, says Rosen. Take only what you need and don't worry about missing something. If it's that important, you'll come across it again.