COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Do you ever get anxious when your iPhone isn't close-by?
A new study suggests that the separation anxiety might be impacting your cognitive abilities.
University of Missouri researchers found that iPhone users tasked with solving a series of puzzles did better when they had their phones with them.
When they were separated from their iPhones, participants experienced an elevated heart rate, blood pressure and anxiety.
The study's author says that "iPhones are capable of becoming an extension of our selves such that when separated, we experience a lessening of 'self' and a negative physiological state."
The study was published in journal of computer-mediated communication.
