Is Your Pursuit of Trading Excellence and Success Sending You To An Early Grave
I came across a real interesting piece online this week that highlighted some of the dangers traders can face when it comes to their health.
It revealed some pretty alarming statistics about a traders lifestyle and impact it can have on a physical, mental and emotional levels.
The human body is an amazing machine. One that’s adapted and evolved allowing us to survive for over 2 million years.
However, there are always limitations of what our bodies can do particularly with all the different challenges and dangers that society now poses.
Over the last century, our daily habits have changed beyond all recognition.
We’ve slowly moved from a physically active society that almost exclusively worked outdoors, to one that sits down for the majority of the day, performs very little to no exercise, is inundated with technology from morning till night and has to deal with high levels of mental stress for good measure
When it comes to trading, it epitomises what modern society has now become i.e. sitting down for hours on end, staring at bright screens and the exposure to the constant stresses of executing and managing trades.
Is Sitting the New Smoking?
A 2017 National Cohort Study carried out in the US found that sitting for excessively long periods of time during the day is a risk factor for premature death.
Keith Diaz, lead author of the study and an associate research scientist in the Columbia University Department of Medicine, stated that people who sat for more than 13 hours per day had a 200% greater risk of dying compared to those who sat for less than 11 hours a day.
Other similar studies have revealed that extensive sitting can increase death from cardiovascular disease (including coronary heart disease, cardiomyopathy, stroke) by 18% and cancers by 17%.
It’s also been found that long periods of sitting can increase the likelihood of getting Type 2 diabetes by a massive 91%.
Pretty scary stuff you have to agree?
But as I alluded to above, traders are not only exposed to the sedentary nature of trading, there are other surprising dangers that you should consider also.
Let’s go into them in a little more detail…
Trader Stress
As you probably know by now, trading can be extremely stressful.
From the time you enter the trade, all those managing bits and decisions in between, to the moment you close the trade out, you’re exposing yourself to a fair amount of stress.
It’s a trader’s constant companion.
Moderate amounts of ‘good’ stress or ‘eustress’ as it’s sometimes known, can help enhance performance by providing you with inspiration, motivation and focus.
However, on the flip side, ‘bad’, or chronic (long term) stress can cause much more damaging health conditions such as anxiety, tiredness, headaches, muscle aches, anxiety, depression, high blood pressure, immunity deficiencies and much more.
In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 90% of all illnesses and diseases are stress-related.
When we experience any type of stress, our heart rates increase.
What this then does is send signals to the cerebrum, the front part of the brain, and responsible for things such as judgement, thinking, reasoning to temporarily shut down, to allow the primal brain (hindbrain & Medulla) which is responsible for instinct, drive and survival, to take over.
This physiological reaction explains why traders often make poor decisions when under stress
So rather than making rational, logical decisions when either entering, managing or exiting a trade, the stress triggers instead the ‘fight-or-flight’ response.
In addition to poor decision making, studies have shown that chronic stress can also cause shrinkage and long-term damage to the hippocampus which plays a major role in learning and memory- essential components to becoming a successful trader.
The ‘Mouse’ Trap.
The humble computer mouse may seem like an insignificant health hazard but if you’re a day trader, it’s likely you wrap your hand around this small device hours at a time.
This long term excessive use can cause numerous issues, including Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Tendonitis, Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, Trigger Finger.
Blue Light Exposure
A trader’s day ordinarily involves many, many hours staring at a screen
Devices such as computer and laptop screens, tablets and cell phones all use light-emitting diode (LED) technologies with high amounts of blue light.
A 2014 study carried out by Harvard Medical School, Boston discovered that when people were exposed to blue light late in the evening, there was a reduction in the amount of melatonin their bodies released, causing their sleep cycles to be delayed or disrupted.
Furthermore, a 2019 study from the Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Basel (UPK), Basel, Switzerland also revealed that sleep cycle disruption from blue light can also lead to other health issues developing such as:
- Hypertension
- Depression
- Obesity
- Cancers including breast and prostate
- Heart attacks
- Strokes
- Metabolic changes, in particular blood sugar
So as you can see, trading the markets doesn’t come without some health warnings.
But as the saying goes- forewarned is forearmed.
Being aware of these potential health dangers will allow you to take the necessary steps to alleviate them as much as possible.
In my next blog, I’ll be providing some proven tips and pointers to help you deal with some of these health challenges as a trader so they don’t get in your way to becoming a true trading success.
