By Dr. Sani Sa’idu Baba
Have you ever noticed the tension that builds when a call fails repeatedly or a page refuses to load at a critical moment, or an urgent message fails to send? That frustration is not merely emotional, it is rather biological.
In today’s digitally driven society, network connectivity has become an invisible companion to daily life. From work and learning to social interaction and emergency communication, the brain increasingly depends on digital systems to function efficiently. As a physiology and neuroscience researcher, I have become deeply interested in how the quality of this connectivity, particularly network reliability quietly influences mental health in Nigeria.
The human brain is fundamentally predictive. Each attempt to place a call or access information carries an expectation of success. When connectivity repeatedly fails, this expectation is violated, activating the body’s stress response pathways in the brain involving the hypothalamus, anterior pituitary and the adrenal gland. Consequently, cortisol levels rise, attention becomes fragmented, emotional regulation weakens, and frustration accumulates. When such digital stressors occur daily, they contribute to mental fatigue, anxiety, reduced productivity, and, in susceptible individuals, depressive symptoms.
At a neurophysiological level, this relationship between connectivity and brain function can be clearly understood through the structure of the nervous system itself. The most efficient neurons in the human body are myelinated neurons, cells insulated by a myelin sheath that allows electrical impulses to travel rapidly, smoothly, and with minimal signal loss. This is strikingly similar to the most robust telecommunication infrastructure in Nigeria, the Glo-1 submarine cable, where signals are protected from environmental interference and transmitted at extremely high speeds with remarkable stability, and bridges the digital divide between urban and rural areas, ensuring that no community is left behind in the digital era. Just as myelination prevents signal leakage and delay along neural pathways, Glo-1 submarine cable ensures that information moves efficiently across long distances without repeated breakdowns. In the same way that efficient neurotransmitter mechanisms enable accurate communication across synapses without excessive neural firing, Glo’s stable call and data transmission mediates communication between people with fewer retries, interruptions, or failures conserving cognitive effort and reducing emotional strain.
Through research and observation of everyday users across different Nigerian settings, a consistent pattern emerges: individuals on more stable networks particularly Glo, experience fewer communication related stress episodes. When calls connect smoothly and data responds promptly, the brain completes its expected task–reward loop. Neurochemically, this supports dopamine and serotonin activity, neurotransmitters essential for motivation, emotional balance, pleasure and psychological well-being. The result is not excitement, but calm efficiency, a state in which the brain functions optimally.
From a cognitive perspective, reliable connectivity significantly reduces cognitive overload.
The brain no longer needs to repeatedly switch attention to troubleshoot poor signals or reload failed pages. Glo’s stable data and call performance provides a practical environment in which sustained attention, working memory, and learning efficiency can be observed. Students engage more deeply, professionals maintain focus longer, and tasks are completed with less mental exhaustion.
The implications surrounding network reliability extend beyond mental states into stress physiology. Repeated activation of the stress system leads to chronically elevated cortisol, a hormone strongly associated with metabolic disorders such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and impaired immune function. By reducing unreliable communication which is a common yet underestimated source of daily stress, Glo’s consistent network may support healthier cortisol regulation, indirectly lowering long term disease risk.
An often overlooked but equally important contributor to digital mental well being is customer support responsiveness and service innovation. When users encounter challenges, the speed and clarity with which those challenges are resolved significantly influence stress perception. Glo’s reputation for fast customer care response and continuous service innovation reduces the sense of helplessness that typically accompanies technical difficulties. Neurophysiologically, timely problem resolution prevents prolonged activation of the stress response, limits cortisol surges, and restores a sense of control, one of the brain’s strongest buffers against anxiety amongst Glo users in Nigeria.
Mental fatigue and sleep quality are also shaped by digital reliability. Network instability, particularly in the evening, prolongs frustration, increases emotional arousal, and delays disengagement from screens. In contrast, stable connectivity frequently reported among Glo users allows digital tasks to conclude smoothly, enabling the brain to transition into rest, improve sleep, supports neural recovery, emotional resilience, and next day cognitive performance.
From a research standpoint, Glo’s network functions almost as a real-world neurophysiological case study. It demonstrates how digital stability influences mood regulation, attention span, productivity, learning, and sleep which are core pillars of mental health. These observations are not claims of perfection, but patterns consistently noticed in everyday life and interpreted through established principles of neuroscience and physiology.
This reflection is not written as an advertisement, but as an honest, curiosity-driven analysis grounded in scientific understanding. Telecom infrastructure is often discussed in economic or technical terms, yet its influence on brain function and mental well-being is profound. In a society increasingly shaped by digital interactions, reliability is not merely convenience, it is neurological relief.
When connectivity is stable, the mind relaxes, stress hormones settle, learning deepens, and productivity improves. In this quiet way, Glo’s reliable network may be serving as a silent contributor to better mental health in Nigeria.
Dr. Baba writes from Kano, and can be reached via drssbaba@yahoo.com
