Put down the phone and slowly retreat from your newsfeed. So-called doomscrolling — continually absorbing negative news in rapid-fire fashion, typically on social media — has become an increasingly popular pastime. But research suggests the habit is wreaking havoc on your health.

From an evolutionary perspective, zeroing in on threats is helpful; if cave-dwelling ancestors could see a saber-toothed predator coming, they were more likely to keep their limbs.

But the practice is “not so helpful when the threat we're monitoring is halfway around the world,” said Morgan Ellithorpe, associate professor of communication at UD. Especially for those with anxiety or depression — a set predisposed to doomscroll — keeping tabs on remote, uncontrollable crises can spike cortisol levels and reinforce negative thinking, sometimes disrupting work and relationships.

Ellithorpe’s advice for breaking free?

Put your scrolling on a clock: “Find the amount of time that works for you — and stick to it.”