How Often Should You Check Your Email?

22 JANUARY 2021

An interesting study looked at the the frequency of checking email and stress levels.

The control group checked their email at their normal rate, which was about 12 times per day. The experimental group was instructed to check their email only 3 times per day.

The group with limited email checks displayed significantly lower daily stress levels and improved well-being.

There are two other items of interest with this study. First, the experimental group actually checked their email 4.7 times per day on average, exceeding the target of 3 times per day.

Second, even though limiting email reduced stress, participants still found this difficult to do:

“Most participants in our study found it quite difficult to check their email only a few times a day,” says Kushlev. “This is what makes our obvious-in-hindsight findings so striking: People find it difficult to resist the temptation of checking email, and yet resisting this temptation reduces their stress.”

Digital discipline is an important skill than can improve overall health.