Mental Health

Healthy Ways To Break Your Screen Addiction

By Ernest Hamilton | Update Date: Mar 30, 2021 02:40 PM EDT
Healthy Ways To Break Your Screen Addiction

(Photo : Healthy Ways To Break Your Screen Addiction)

Over two-thirds of people say they're addicted to their phone, and admit to checking their phones about 160 times a day. Screen addiction causes a range of mental and physical health issues, including sleep problems, impacted social skills, disrupted emotional development, and even a restructuring of the brain. Finding healthy ways to curb your technology addiction can improve your mental and physical health and restore balance in your life.

Make time for outdoor activities

Commit yourself to spending a set amount of time outside every day instead of automatically settling down on the couch with your phone or tablet, or grabbing a seat at the computer. Aim to do some type of physical activity for at least one hour - whether it's going for a walk or run, or riding your bike. Extend this rule to everyone in your household. Spending time outside has been proven to reduce stress, anxiety and depression. People who walked for 90 minutes in nature had lower activity in the brain's prefrontal cortex than people who walked in an urban setting. This area of the brain is active during rumination - repetitive thoughts focusing on negative emotions. 

Correct your posture

Constantly looking down at your phone all day places stress on the neck and upper back, which leads to poor posture, pain, and incremental loss of the curve of the cervical spine. Slouching can even contribute to low mood, reduced energy levels and low oxygen intake. Fortunately, sitting up straight with a confident posture and your head and shoulders back can boost testosterone and cortisol flow in the brain and prevent these issues. Additionally, chin tucking is a simple yet effective exercise that helps correct head and spine alignment. You can perform chin tucking by yourself at home throughout the day to relieve pain and muscle tension, and reverse the effects of slouching over a screen.

Limit social media use

Social media networks typically take up a lot of our time online. However, they're designed to be addictive, and are associated with depression, anxiety, poor sleep, and even physical ailments. Impose limits on the amount of time you allow yourself to spend on social media every day. Never browse aimlessly: always have a purpose, such as catching up on the news, connecting with distant family friends, or planning vacations. Then log off. 

Screen addiction is a very real problem for many people. Finding healthy ways to break your bad habit will restore balance and improve your quality of life.

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* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of counselheal.com

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