The Importance of Being Unplugged
We’re spending more and more of our time on digital devices— whether it’s checking email, catching up on what’s happening on Instagram, or organizing our lives via the latest app. Don’t get me wrong— a phone can be a great tool in our lives. But more and more I’m finding there is a danger that it is becoming more than a tool and instead the focus of our attention for too many hours in the day.
If you find yourself checking your phone any spare moment, or picking your phone up for just a second only to realize you have been scrolling through Facebook for an hour, then the time might just be right for a digital detox. This doesn’t mean giving up the benefits of your phone, but it does mean you control it, rather than it controlling you.
Why is a Digital Detox Necessary?
Skin Issues
As Huffington Post has reported, smartphones may lead to skin problems. There has been research that shows the blue light (HEV light) emitted from phones may be responsible for premature aging. In fact, many sunscreens now tout a broader SPF spectrum to protect against the harmful digital light. Plus if you are constantly holding a phone to your ear, the bacteria on the screen could lead to breakouts.
Sleep Issues
Not only does the blue light negatively affect your skin, it also suppresses the hormone melatonin— which is so crucial to getting a good night’s sleep. Try not to look at your phone during the evening hours, so you can wind-down ready to get the 8 hours sleep so vital for your wellbeing. Banning your phone from the bedroom will prevent you from needlessly checking your phone and help you get a restful night’s sleep.
Anxiety Issues
If you are always half expecting the ping of a work email or a social media notification, it is hard to switch off and truly relax. Before the smartphone, we weren’t contactable at all times and in multiple different ways. However, we are allowing this. Remove notifications from your phones and then allow yourself set times to check email and social media should you wish to— but don’t be at its whim 24 hours a day. You will feel much calmer for it!
Relationship Issues
We have all seen those people in restaurants who spend little time speaking to their partner, friends, or even children, and the majority of the time staring down at their phone. We may readily recognize this behavior in others, but how guilty of it are we ourselves?
Too much time spent on a phone can lead to far less quality time spent with our friends and loved ones in the real world, and this can have a very real impact on increased feelings of loneliness and isolation.
How To Implement a Digital Detox
There are so many ways to switch off but we have to find the method that works best for us.
Some people have set days when they just don’t look at their phones at all. Maybe over the weekend is time reserved for family and friends? Others prefer to only check their phones at specific times of the day and for a short period. Not every email or social media update needs an instant response, but we do need to train ourselves to do this. At first, you may have an instant need to reply, but after a time you start to question where that urgency is coming from. We have been conditioned to respond to every ping from our phone and we are creating the need in ourselves to reply immediately. When we realize the power lies with us, we can easily stop.
Another way to detox is to start doing more of those things that you enjoy and which are very beneficial for our mental and physical wellbeing.
Head to the spa for a period of total relaxation and to revitalize your skin and body.
Book a coffee or lunch date with friends and strengthen the real-world bond you have with others.
Make an effort to enjoy more time at the cinema or theater, instead of watching TV or movies on your phone.
Increase your physical activity with walk on the boardwalk, an energizing swim at the YMCA, or one of Rockaway’s many exercise classes.
Put the smartphone down, and instead of reading on an app on your phone, pick up a real book and get lost amongst the pages for an hour or two.
Once you have tried this for a few weeks, you will lessen the reliance you have on your phone and start to appreciate the benefits. Your anxiety should be lessened since you are not constantly responding to notifications or looking at the lives of others on social media. Your relationships with those around you will be strengthened and you will be sleeping better and overall feeling much more relaxed.
Don’t those benefits sound amazing? Then it’s time to put down the phone and unplug. Your skin, body, and mind will thank you for it!
