5 ways to cut down on your screen time
How long do you spend staring at a screen each day? If you spend your day working behind a computer, get through your commute scrolling through your device and then relax on the couch at the end of your day with it, the time can quickly add up.
In 2013, humans in the western world spent an average of three hours a day in front of the television alone. To put this in perspective, if you watch this amount of TV daily and live to be 75 years of age, you will have spent nine entire years of your life in front of a television.
There is undeniable evidence that the increase in screen usage has significant implications for our health.
Our eyes weren’t designed to stare at screens all day, neither were our bodies designed to sit for hours at a time.
Many people experience back and neck pain as a result of postural changes associated with sedentary lifestyles and there is research highlighting the longterm impact of screens on our vision.
Lights can disrupt the messages the body is supposed to receive to wind down and fall asleep. Back-lit devices such as smartphones, tablets and computer screens emit a blue light and there is a lot of evidence that this kind of light is impacting on the quantity and quality of our sleep.
Additionally, the constant pressure to be ‘‘on’’ is taking its toll on our nervous system. We live in a world where texting or checking our emails and social media feeds while we’re in the bathroom, if we wake up in the middle of the night – even while we’re driving – is common. It has been shown that the very presence of a cellphone can distract us enough to interfere with how present we are in social interactions and impede our performance of tasks.
Many of us feel as though we are expected to be available 24/7 and this pressure can increase the stress we feel from everyday living.
Research has found that we do actually require ‘‘down time’’ when we come home from work in order to mentally reboot for the following day so if we’re bringing work home with us or communicating with colleagues after work hours, we’re not just creating additional stress levels, we’re also doing ourselves a disservice for the following day.
So why aren’t we all making more time to disconnect from our devices?
There’s no definitive answer to that question however, one could argue that we are talking about changes in technology that have only really taken place in the last decade and so we haven’t yet fully integrated a way to live with technology without it infiltrating every aspect of our lives.
Regardless, there are countless benefits to us scheduling ‘‘unplug’’ time. Here are a few suggestions.
Decide on a time at which you become ‘‘uncontactable’’ and try to stick to that as many evenings as you can.
Of course, there will be times when you need to stay contactable but set yourself an achievable number of nights and then try to increase it every few weeks or months. Get out into nature, spend the day with your family or friends, or enjoy some other device-free activity. If once a weekend feels like too much, try half a day or start with once a month and work your way up.
Take a bath, write a journal, chat with your family or read a book instead of watching TV, particularly at night after work. An actual book, of course! The backlit device you’re using can interfere with your sleep cycle.
Even just removing the ease of accessing social media from our phone can decrease the time we spend on our devices This one strategy can completely change our sleeping patterns and help break any habits we might have of flicking through our devices first thing in the morning, before we go to sleep or through the night when we should be dreaming.
❚ Dr Libby is a nutritional biochemist, best-selling author and speaker. The advice contained in this column is not intended to be a substitute for direct, personalised advice from a health professional. See drlibby.com