Digital Detox
Unplugging for better mental health
You probably spend more time than you’d want to admit on your smartphone. It’s hard to imagine life without them. But the use or overuse of technology can adversely affect your mental health. What can you do to become less dependent on technology?
A digital detox is a way to help you disconnect yourself from technology. It can improve symptoms of depression and offer other benefits to your mental health.
Are you ready to unplug from technology? Here is more information about the positive impacts a digital detox can have on your mental health.
A digital detox will help you enhance your focus.
This won’t be a surprising benefit for most people. When you become free from some of life’s distractions, you can live in the present more readily. You’ll be less likely to:
Scroll mindlessly on social media platforms.
Check phone notifications excessively.
Reply immediately to unimportant emails or texts.
Take advantage of email span filter software to get rid of junk email.
When you set distractions aside, you’ll have more time to focus on your responsibilities, and other aspects of your life.
A digital detox can reduce depression and anxiety.
If you take a break of only one week from social media, you may experience reduced levels of depression and anxiety. This is from a study recently published in “Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking.”
The same study found that even shorter breaks from social media can positively impact someone’s emotions, overall well-being and life satisfaction.
https://www.cnet.com/health/mental/social-media-detox/
A digital detox is helpful in attaining better sleep.
Technology can certainly prevent you from attaining restful sleep. Your brain produces melatonin at night, to help you sleep. In daytime hours, the sun’s blue light lessens the production of melatonin.
Digital screens, such as tablets and smartphones, emit blue light, too. When you’re lying in bed on your phone in the evening, your brain thinks that it’s still daytime, and produces less melatonin.
If you use your phone in bed, you are more likely to experience:
Anxiety
Insomnia
Shorter duration of sleep
A digital detox, where you avoid electronic screens for 1-2 hours prior to going to bed, can help you get better sleep.
https://www.goodrx.com/health-topic/mental-health/digital-detox
A digital detox leaves you with more time for the things that can bring you joy.
How many times each day do you pick your phone up to check messages, texts or emails or to browse social media? It’s been estimated that the average person checks their phones nearly 100 times a day.
A digital detox will help you take back the authority in your life from technology. Feeling unproductive after spending too much time online can lead to depression and anxiety. A digital detox usually includes pausing your social media use, allowing you to rediscover other things or new things that bring you happiness.
https://www.cnet.com/health/mental/social-media-detox/
A digital detox can help you build stronger relationships.
If you spend more time online, you’re investing less time in real-life and personal relationships. Your smartphone is probably the reason for this.
If you check your social media, email or text messages constantly, you can be isolated from your family or friends even when you are physically with them — are you listening Gen Z? are you listening Millennials? You may find that you’ll have a better sense of mental well-being if you unplug from your social media accounts occasionally.
Smartphones and tablets can also take their toll on your relationships. Try eating dinner with your family or friends with no cell phones at the table. This can lead to actual, real conversations with people and stronger bonding in your family and circle of friends.
https://www.goodrx.com/health-topic/mental-health/digital-detox
Conclusion
There is a wide world of instant information available, thanks to today’s technology. But over-relying on technology may become an addictive burden if you are not careful.
Using a digital detox – a break from all your devices – can have a positive impact on your mental health. Time spent without the distraction of devices can give you a chance to become mindful of less healthy online habits and allow you to open yourself up to the real world and people outside the digital domain.
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If you liked this content check my article on “How To Know If You Have Too Much Clutter” at: https://www.theunreliablemind.com/blog/do-you-have-too-much-junk
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