I know, I know… we are glued to our smartphones, laptops, and other gaming gadgets. Tech detoxing is something that must be embraced by every person nowadays. It allows you to rediscover the serenity of a tech-free life and is also beneficial for your health.
Yes, our lives are intertwined with gadgets. And so you might feel – just like I did – how can I live without them? Well, you don’t need to. Detoxing doesn’t mean doing away with it completely. You can reduce your usage as well – and that can help considerably. Here is how it helped me, for one.
1. Get to have a better sleep
Allowing your gadgets like smartphones or laptops to stay far away from you helps you indulge in a better and sound sleep. Don’t believe me? Read on.
A study published by the National Library of Medicine in 2023 had participants engaging in a two week study, where they took digital detox. The study found that limiting social media usage helps deal with social media addiction as well as other health issues.
Engaging with any gadget with a screen impacts the eyes, which is harmful for eye-sights. Not only eye-sights but engaging with screens before bedtime lowers sleep time and sometimes leads to trouble sleeping.
I couldn’t sleep for hours on end if I had my phone in my hands when I went to sleep. Then, I decided to turn it off and try sleeping. It made a world of difference. The screen-time deduction is one of the best ways of tech detoxing to improve your sleeping habits.
2. Lowers anxiety and depression
Radiations produced through gadgets and harmful rays that fall on our eyes, both are the reasons to get headaches, which further turn into anxiety and sometimes depression. I am not just saying that. There are scientific facts that corroborate the same. Like the WHO, which says that it can even be a health hazard. Or, this study from the National Library of Medicine in 2022, which contributes the increased screen time as a cause of declining physical and psychological health.
I had one nearly every day. I thought it was kind of work-related. But not really. It was being near to gadgets even when I didn’t need to. Like I didn’t need to be scrolling Facebook or Insta reels all the time!
Also, gadgets keep us at home. It stops us from going out to have fun and immerse ourselves in some outdoor activities. Due to these habits, people develop anxiety issues. Their physical fitness becomes worse as they are not using their muscles in strengthening outdoor activities.
3. Allow you to spend time with your loved ones
When you’ll declutter your digital engagement with gadgets, you will have more time to spend with your loved ones. This is a better approach to living a happy and healthy lifestyle.
Tech detoxing not only allows you to take care of your physical health but also helps you make some time for socializing, which is a necessary part of anyone’s life but with the regular use of tech devices, people are starting to neglect socializing, especially the kids nowadays. It not only makes them a self-centered person but also prevents them from meeting and engaging with different people around them.
4. Improve posture
Firstly, many have a sitting job that requires them to sit for hours on a chair in front of a computer screen. Problems in the back and spinal cords mainly increase due to these sitting postures. However, the only solution to keep your posture intact is to straight for hours by taking some small breaks to move around in between. I have done that – and I have seen a noticeable difference. Harvard Health corroborates what I have to say. A few simple changes in your lifestyle can lead to better posture, and improved health.
And my personal anecdote tells the same. My backache was gone in a month. I didn’t need to visit the chiropractor. Or go for a massage. No. All I needed to do was better my posture.
And honestly, depending on what you’re doing, you may need to improve your posture straightaway. Like, if you’re into gaming. Online gaming has made people spend hours sitting in the same place. And that’s not healthy.
Playing on smartphones means you can’t maintain a posture for a long time, one of the reasons for bad posture in teens is digital gaming. Decluttering your time investment in gaming allows you to invest time in other tech-free activities that can improve your posture such as outdoor sports, walking, jogging, or even yoga. I have seen my stress levels go down as well as I focused on improving my posture.
What other benefits of tech detoxing do you think I have missed out on?
Last Updated on by Icy Tales Team