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Dear Fellow ALPHA,
Modern technology is amazing! We live in the greatest, most technologically advanced time in human history. With a touch of a button we can do just about anything. With current cell phone technology we can communicate with friends and family, order groceries, learn a new skill, answer any question our mind can conceive and we have a personal chauffeur on call with ride share!
With how fast life is moving, sometimes it can be easy to lose sight of how much has changed in a short time. This is common because, like most changes in history, we are so caught up in the newest and greatest advancements that we don’t realize things are changing until it has already occurred. This is especially true for the tech-revolution. Make no mistake the revolution isn’t coming…
It’s already here!
Running a company like RAM Advantage takes a lot of time. My “normal” workweek consists of about 70+ hours. Recently, I paused and analyzed how much of my day was spent engaging with technology. I found that about 95% of those 70+ hours are spent either on my MacBook or my iPhone.
What shocked me about this wasn’t the time I spent on my laptop and phone, what shocked me was that the 95% didn’t take into account the time I spent engaging with technology during my few hours of “down time” after work. Even when I am not working I am reading online articles, streaming music during my workout or flipping through Prime Video or Netflix for a television show or movie to watch.
That’s when I had to be completely transparent with myself and I realized that I spend the majority of my waking hours engaging directly with technology. As imbalanced as this might seem, I think that constant interaction with technology will become even more prevalent in the coming years.
Researchers are finding that I am not alone in my daily immersion of technological interaction. In fact, The Washington Post recently revealed children between the ages of 8-12 spend about 6 hours a day consuming media through smart devices. Teenagers are spending around 9 hours a day on their smart devices and, according to ABC news, adults are spending over 11 hours a day on their devices. From these numbers, it seems that our technology consumption increases as we age. As large as these numbers may seem, they shouldn’t shock anyone.
Why? Simple - we don’t buy “smart” devices because we want to engage with them less! We spend our hard earned money on these devices because we want to engage with them more. We are filling our homes and lives with smartphones, TVs, watches, cars, appliances and devices we can talk to.
It seems the human spirit has an insatiable appetite for technological interaction. Almost as if it's “hard wired” into us. We want an alert to go off 15 minutes before our next meeting, Google directions, Siri or Alexa to change our playlist or give us a recipe. We want our smart watches to remind us to drink water, breath deeply and notify us when it's time to walk ourselves around the office. Smart devices have become a staple of modern living. I believe personal assistants programed to our individual behavior, needs, likes and desires is the obvious next step.
With this increase in technology use we haven’t learned how to balance our interaction with it yet. It seems like many of us are acting like kids in a candy store with our parents credit card. We are gobbling up the newest and greatest tech-toy that hits the market.
However, there is a price for all of this technological candy we are gobbling up. Oh, and I don’t mean the 1K you spent on that shiny new phone. I mean the price we pay with our health. Even though the technocentric life is a relatively new way of living, the impact on our health is already measurable.
1. Notifications
This new smart technology bombardment is different than any other advancement in human history. Historically, advancements in technology were designed to lessen the physical burden on our lives. These advancements were also designed to improve efficiency, safety and ultimately lead humans to working less and enjoying more leisure time with friends and family.
Our new “smart” world does all of the above except it is designed specifically to interact with us on regular basis. Our days at work and at home are now full of buzzing, beeps and alerts from our devices. These “notifications” are doing more than letting us know that we received an email, text or that someone liked our latest social media post. These interactions are directly impacting our brain chemistry.
Not sure what I mean? Well, think of it this way...have you ever felt board and decided to text a bunch of people or post something on social media? Then when you started to receive interactions you felt better? That uplifted feeling is because the notifications caused a spike in the neurotransmitter dopamine. In case you are unaware, dopamine is a molecule which stimulates drive, motivation and desire. Dopamine is known as the pleasure molecule.
When there is a healthy elevation of dopamine it can provide a plethora of benefits including an elevated mood. However, spikesof dopamine production can lead to addictive behavior. This is because dopamine activates the pleasure centers of the brain. Since the notification only causes a spike in dopamine production, the pleasure is short lived. A spike in dopamine can be shortly follow by a deficiency or a valley in dopamine levels, which can lead to lowered moods and even depression. This is how an unhealthy relationship with technology can occur; we crave the notification, the beep, ding or buzzing in our pocket and the corresponding dopamine spike. However, this may lead to a yo-yoing of production and a series of spikes and valleys in dopamine and corresponding emotional highs and lows.
2. Blue Light
Many of our new techno gadgets require visual interaction which means they emit light. This light can disrupt our circadian rhythm, which is our sleep / wake cycle. According to Harvard sleep disturbances caused by blue light can lead to depression, diabetes and cardiovascular problems. When our circadian rhythm is disturbed it can lead to a perpetual state of tiredness as well as an inability to recover and negatively impact our immune system.
3. Stress Production
Having the ability to be constantly “connected” might have an impact on our physiology, specifically increased stress. A recent study investigated the physical impact not being able to check our phones would have on individuals. Participants were instructed to engage in a puzzle of sorts. As part of the study, these individuals did not have access to their phones however would be aware when they received a notification.
When participants received a notification on their phone but were unable to check it they had a rise in cortisol, the bodies stress hormone. Being unable to engage immediately with their phones and the subsequent rise in cortisol led to a rapid elevation in blood pressure, heart rate, and anxiety.
4. Increased Aging
An increase in stress hormone production because of technology overload may lead to accelerated aging. As stated above, cortisol is produced when we are unable to immediately engage with a notification. This may negatively impact the health of our cells.
Specifically, stress has been shown to decrease the functioning of mitochondria, the energy producing portion of our cells. A decline in mitochondria functioning has been linked to a variety of health conditions and is commonly referred to as the cause of “age related” conditions. Having catabolic stress hormones, like cortisol, streaming through our system puts a drain on our energy, health and may increase the aging process.
As I detailed out earlier our technology consumption will only continue to rise. It’s the natural progression from the trajectory we are on. Going forward, more and more of our entertainment, shopping, healthcare, media as well as business activities will be done with and through technology.
So what does this mean? Is this a bad thing? I don’t know if it’s a “good” or “bad” thing. However, what I do know is technology isn’t the problem. The issue with technology, both in the past and current day, arises in our ability to healthily coexist with advancements.
In fact, I will up the anti a little; it’s our duty to learn how to thrive alongside technology. To find ways and products to integrate into our lives so we can thoroughly embrace this new era of human living. The human species has always found a way to coexist with technological advances.
This is no different!
New advancements in technology usually come with a wonderment of good as well as challenges to overcome. It’s part of the game of life. In the 1600’s new, extravagant for the time, vessels were built to sail across the ocean. This allowed for unprecedented exploration and trade. The human race was able to sail to new lands, meet new people, learn foreign languages and experience new goods and services.
However, this new technology (ocean worthy vessels) also brought with it an unseen issue. The extended time at sea created a new disease –scurvy. It wasn’t until 1749 that the cause of scurvy was discovered. Dr. James Lind found that adding citrus foods, specifically lemons, to the diet of men at sea prevented this deadly disease. This is a perfect example of how we learned how to work with and adapt to a new technology. As a result we became able to sail the world over.
Another technological adaptation is the multi-vitamin. Most people never question how it came into existence. For most of us, it's been a staple our entire life. The reason the multi-vitamin exist is because of advancements in technology, precisely scientific advancements in farming and food preparation.
The convenience of having a grocery store every few blocks stocked with fresh, affordable fruits and vegetable was seen as a luxury. However, in order to mass-produce that much food something had to suffer and unfortunately it was the micronutrient density of the food.
This created a market for a product, which could help fill in what our food was now lacking, this led to the birth of the multi-vitamin. The multi-vitamin provided a way for us to adapt to our new lifestyle, where food was convenient, affordable and the regular person could focus more time on things besides farming. As such, we adapted by popping a couple multi-vitamin pills in the morning with our breakfast and a few with our dinner.
As we are all now aware, a good organic whole foods diet with fresh fruits, vegetables and meats is the best choice. However, even the organic foods may still be lacking in nutrients and may need the back-up support of a multi-vitamin.
This new technological world we are living in is not so different than ones we have experienced in the past, we just need to learn how to adapt to it.
1. Turn Off Notifications
As mentioned above, technology notifications can cause a spike in the neurotransmitter dopamine. According to a recent article in WIRED they state that adults check their phones 47 times a day and children check their devices 82 times a day. Plus, according to the same article Apple has sent over 7.4 trillion notifications!
That’s a lot of concentration breaking, neurotransmitter spiking, interruptions. Unless it’s absolutely necessary for work or family, I recommend turning off all notifications, alerts and sounds on your devices. This includes laptops, phones and tablets! In addition to possibly helping you stay on task at work, it may provide for healthy neurotransmitter flow throughout the day – no spikes and valleys.
Personally, I have all notifications turned off and my phone is on silent all day long. This gives me the freedom to work without distractions. I make it a point to take a break every few hours and check my voicemail, email, texts and social media accounts. By doing this I can stay up with everything as well as keep my stress levels under control and most of all I don’t feel “tied” to my phone. I recommend everyone tryout my “techo-silent” approach for a week and see how they feel.
2. Sleep in a Device-Free Room
Sleeping is an important component to our lives. It helps with both physical and mental health. One way we can help support an elevated lifestyle is by sleeping in a technology free environment. This will reduce the urge to text that friend, look up that article or do a final check of your social media accounts before going to sleep. Researchers found 81% of people check their devices before going to bed and 48% check them in the middle of the night! I know I have fallen into both of these categories.
To prevent my urge to check my devices, I now sleep with my phone, tablet and computer in another room. However, if this isn’t possible, you can try turning down the screen brightness as low as it will go and then place it face down. This will prevent you from seeing it light up in the middle of the night, which can disrupt your circadian rhythm.
3. Wear Blue Light Blocking Glasses
Researchers found individuals who wore glasses designed specifically to block out blue light, developed significantly improved sleeping patterns. These individuals wore the glasses for a few hours each night before going to bed.
As mentioned in the beginning of this article I spend a copious amount of time on my MacBook and iPhone. Recently, I decided to try wearing a pair of blue light blocking glasses. At first, I started wearing them just in the morning. However, soon I found myself preferring to wear them the entire day. For me, the results have been noticeable. I seem to be calmer and in a better mood while I wear them.
I find some people are still skeptical of these glasses and others who have told me they notice a positive impact from theirs. I guess you will have to try them out for yourself and let me know how you feel. I am sure you can find a pair on Amazon for a few bucks. For me, they are a good and inexpensive technological accessory.
4. Next Generation Supplements
To people like you and me, taking supplements as a preventative measure makes complete sense because we understand the importance of supporting the body with a plethora of healthy ingredients. However, it hasn’t always been this way.
I have talked with older individuals who tell me they scoffed at the idea of multi-vitamins when they first learned about them. These individuals also came from the generation, which believed working out with weights would decrease athletic performance and that second hand smoke was “fake news.”
However, these same individuals now take their vitamins, as well as a plethora of other natural supplements, workout with weights on a regular basis and quit smoking years ago. They report that they “feel better” and wish they had started this regimen decades earlier.
The 3 recommendations above may help reduce the impact technology has over our physiology. However, technology will still has an impact and I firmly believe our bodies still need extra support to perform properly with this new immersive environment, where technology fills most of our lives.
To my knowledge, there wasn't another supplement company on the market attacking this growing problem. So, our team at RAM ADVANTAGE took it upon ourselves to discover a product that could fit this growing need. We spent hundreds upon hundreds of hours researching journals for ingredients which could prevent the issues technology is creating within our physiology.
I am extremely excited to say that we believe we “cracked the code.” We found specific ingredients, which have a proven track record both in research journals and in the real world. Ingredients, which have time and time again shown to support mitochondria biogenesis (creation of new energy producing parts of the cell), support healthy mood levels by supporting serotonin production, decreasing the impact of stress on the body and helping reset normal circadian rhythm (sleep / wake) cycles.
These ingredients also support stress management, digestion and blocking the effects of negative environmental conditions. Our team looked at the problem plaguing our generation and designed a product which helps us adapt to our new way of living. We call the product ALPHA V6 and it’s the worlds first supplement designed to help people recover faster, feel better and offset the effects of technology overload.
I have been using ALPHA V6 for a few months and to be honest, the results have been incredible. I take in in the evening with my dinner then watch a little TV and then head to bed. I have noticed the effects to be most noticeable in how I feel in the morning.
If you are like me, the moment you open your eyes you take a quick inventory of how you feel. Most days, due to my heavy work schedule, I wake up still tired. Usually it takes a cup of coffee before I am feeling like myself.
However, after starting ALPHA V6, I open my eyes, take inventory of how I feel, take a deep breath and realize I feel good! Even though I probably worked over 10 hours the previous day, I feel as if my body fully rests and is able to regenerate while I sleep. When I wake up, I feel ready for the day.
For me, this is huge!
So, if you are someone who works on a computer, spends hours on their phone engaging with social media, texting and emails, I recommend you check out ALPHA V6. If you decide to try it all I ask is that you give it a fair and honest run. Use it for a full 30 days and after that if you don’t think it helps, simply email our team and we’ll give you a full refund –no questions asked!
You don’t even have to send the bottle back. That’s how confident I am in this product. In my opinion, if you engage with technology and want to feel your best, ALPHA V6 should be a staple product in your life!
In conclusion, technology is only going to continue to be apart of our lives as well as our children’s. The impact of technology will also continue to rise. The coming decades will lead to health foods stores, amazon listings and grocery stores stocking products, which are precisely designed to address technology overload. I believe preventing technology overload is the next frontier in healthy living! Those of us who are taking all of the necessary steps are ahead of the curve!
Until Next time,
Attack Your Life with Passion!
Brandon DiNovi, CEO RAM Advantage
