492. The many effects of our screen-heavy world that you hadn’t thought of yet, with Dr. Meenal Agarwal

As we scroll on socials, we are bombarded with all kinds of reasons that screen time is having negative impacts on our lives - from polarisation to self consciousness and comparison as well as eye sight. In today's show with Dr. Meenal Agarwal, an eye doctor, we talk about so much more, when it comes to the effect of spending so much of our time on screens, aka “near focus” or “near work”.She talks us through the different areas of the brain and what's happening. She shares a deeply personal story of what happened to her, as well as the things she's seen in clinic that led her to deep dive into the research so that she could clearly explain just how far-reaching the effects of near focus predominance are.Dr. Meenal Agarwal is a board-certified optometrist, spatial awareness expert, and leading authority on the eye-brain connection. She coined the term Spatial Awareness Processing Disorder (SAPD) to describe how screen-heavy, modern lifestyles can disrupt the brain’s ability to judge distance, track motion, and navigate real-world space, bringing attention to the effects of digital overload on focus, safety, and presence while offering practical, prevention-focused solutions.Join us for the motivation you’ll need, to mix up your focus throughout your days and ditch those screens a little more often!&nbsp;Alexx StuartYour Host, Low Tox LifeFancy a few more podcasts we’ve done over the years, related to this one?Show #466. How to use your outdoor time for the better for immediate health benefits, with Dr John La Puma.Show #323 – How The Light Spectrum Affects Us For Better Or Worse, With Daniel EbbettShow #383 Kids and Tech: How to cultivate a healthy, safe blend of tech and reality in the digital world with psychologist, and cyberpsychology researcher Dr Jocelyn BrewerWant to learn more about this week’s guest?&nbsp;Substack: https://drmeenal.substack.com/&nbsp;Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.meenalagarwal&nbsp;Thank you to this month’s show partners for joining us to help you make your low tox swaps!&nbsp;@waterscofilters removes all contaminants from modern tap water + keeps all the minerals. 7-15 filtration stages, depending on which filter you choose. Lock in their auto-subscription, cancel-anytime, 10% off + refill subscription price ongoing. No code required. waterscoaustralia.com.au&nbsp;@ausclimate continues to give you 10% off their range in 2026, with Winix Air Purifiers, the best Dehumidifiers I’ve ever used, energy-efficient heating and air-circulating range. code LOWTOXLIFE (often works on top of their sales - pro tip!) <img src="data:image/png;base64,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