Analysis of Physiological Effect of Reading Books by Paper and Electronic Medium

摘要

Digital books have become popular as electronic media has become more common. An evaluation that includes not only a subjective assessment of readability or usability, but also an objective assessment of psychometric health impact is needed. The goal of this study is an objective assessment of the physiological and psychological effects of reading books using electronic or paper media. This paper focuses on hemodynamic parameters. The measurement items include VAS and POMS as a psychological index and hemodynamic parameters as a physiological index. As a result, low levels of vigor and limited readability were recognized as significant (p < 0.05) when reading a book using electronic media as compared to paper media. The cardiovascular system was actively engaged in coping because of sympathetic hyperactivity in the hemodynamic reaction. By contrast, using electronic media was not seen to involve stress coping. We also found that the parasympathetic nervous system activity was enhanced by the illegibility of sentences and fatigue due to using electronic media. Based on all of these results, we identified a difference in how people react physiologically when reading a book using electronic and paper media.