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Are you noticing that your screen habits are having a negative impact on your wellbeing? Many of us are concerned about things like sleep, attention span and eye strain, but in today’s technology-focused world it often isn’t practical to eliminate the causes completely.
For example, we should all be getting around 8 hours of sleep each night, but screen habits can prevent us from achieving that. Long-term sleep deficiency can have side effects on us, including loss of focus and even memory issues. This can, in turn, negatively impact our mental health.
Now that we are slowly becoming aware of the downsides of using too much technology, we’re also realising the importance of digital wellness.
This article explores digital wellness and ways to use technology mindfully so that you can minimise the negative side effects.
Understanding digital wellness
Digital wellness is about consciously developing a healthy relationship with technology. It also means adopting healthy screen habits to combat disadvantages like stress, lack of sleep, and deteriorating focus.
With constant access to phones that hold all possible entertainment forms, it’s easy to get lost in the magic of our screens. Social media, videos, movies, songs, games, internet; our phones have everything we need to keep ourselves entertained. However, there are negative side effects that we need to manage.
This is where digital wellness comes in. Technology is a part of our everyday life, so it’s important to learn to peacefully coexist with it and maintain a good tech-life balance.
Digital detox strategies that actually work
Saying you want to prioritise digital wellness is one thing, but actually doing it is another. You might not realise just how much you’re glued to your phone until you try to limit your usage. So, digital detox is gradual and takes effort.
Listed below are some strategies on how you can begin your digital wellness. These healthy digital lifestyle tips will help you create boundaries with the technology around you.
1. Set screen time limits
The good thing about pursuing digital wellness is that our own phones can help us in some ways.
If you go to your phone settings, there’s usually a screen time limit feature. This helps you put timers on how long you can use each app per day and is an easy way to limit your usage.
For instance, if you put a 60-minute timer on Instagram, your phone will lock the app as soon as your 60 minutes are up. This means you won’t be able to use the app any more for that day.
Your Internet provider may also be able to help you here. For example, Xfinity Internet customers can use the xFi app to manage screen times. Along with super-fast speeds, the internet service has features like Downtime and Bedtime, which can pause internet access to selected devices. This way, you won’t be tempted to use your phone at specific times.
2. Delete unnecessary apps
In your phone’s settings, you can also see which apps take up most of your usage. This can help you identify the main time consumers.
Consider also whether you actually need all of your social media apps. Most content creators post the same content across all social media platforms. Could you make do with one social media app (that has your friends on it) and delete the rest?
3. Turn off notifications
Notifications are another reason for increased screen usage. Your phone chimes, and you see someone liked your photo on Instagram. You click on it. The app opens, and before you know it you’ve lost a chunk of your day to scrolling.
This is why switching off app notifications, especially for social media, can drastically help you with digital wellness. No notifications means no pressure to click on them and respond.
4. Go out without your phone
An important digital wellness strategy is tech-free zones. These are places without any technology so you can take a break and engage more with the real world.
For example, if you’re going out on a walk or a run, you can leave your phone at home. Taking in the sights and sounds of the outside world without earbuds in your ears can have a positive impact on your wellbeing.
Similarly, if you are going to meet your family or a friend, you can put your phone on airplane mode so you can be present in the moment without digital distractions.
5. Invest in an old-fashioned alarm clock
One major excuse for taking our phone to bed is the alarm clock. However research shows that the blue light on phones disrupts the production of melatonin, which is key to helping us sleep. Taking your phone to bed can force your brain to stay active and negatively impact your sleep.
This is why having an old-fashioned alarm clock next to your bed is an important part of gaining digital wellness. Not only do your sleeping habits improve, but you will also stop waking up to your phone continuously. This gives your brain the space to wake up gradually, making you feel more productive throughout the day.
The benefits of reducing digital overload
We are inherently aware of the importance of striking a balance between technology and real life. This is because we all feel guilty of wasting too much time on our phones, not to mention the subsequent negative effects of too much screen time.
Let’s take a look at the benefits of digital wellness in more detail:
1. Improved mental health
Studies show that cutting down on your screen time can significantly improve your mental health by reducing stress and anxiety. The constant influx of information, updates, and notifications can be extremely overwhelming. This is why less exposure to them can have a profound impact on anxiety and overall mental health.
2. Improved physical health
Getting off the screen can motivate you to improve your physical health. Spending too much time on the phone and other gadgets is bound to make you feel lethargic. However, digital wellness can help combat that, compel you to move more, and improve your body posture.
3. Better sleep quality
Using your phone in bed forces your brain to stay awake. This pushes your REM cycle back, which can cause you to have disturbed sleep. Leaving your phone outside your bedroom can improve your overall sleep quality.
4. Enhanced time management
Let’s be honest, we’ve all procrastinated by scrolling mindlessly and leaving important tasks undone. Digital wellness allows us to focus on real work that needs to be done. The increased awareness helps you manage your time better, so you stay more productive throughout the day.
It’s not feasible to completely ditch technology and start living in the wilderness. Instead, the key is to develop a healthy relationship with it. We can do that by limiting its use and by adopting digital wellness as an integral aspect of our lives.
Catherine
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