Digital detox: How to find a healthy balance with screen time

Technology can have many benefits: It can connect us with loved ones, give us access to online workouts and help us navigate to where we need to go. But too much screen time can adversely affect your physical and mental health. Here are some tips for finding a healthy balance.

How too much screen time can affect your health

Spending excessive time in front of a screen — whether it’s your smartphone, computer, tablet or television—can negatively impact your physical and mental well-being.

Mental health: Too much time on social media and the internet can overwhelm your senses, affect your attention span and lead to feelings of comparison and jealousy. This stress can lead to low self-esteem, self-image issues, decreased contentment, fear of missing out (FOMO), worsened ADHD symptoms, anxiety and depression. According to research, heavy internet users are more than twice as likely to be depressed than their peers who use the internet less often.

Problems at work: Excessive screen time can affect your productivity, work ethic and time management skills. While you might think you can multitask, most of us can’t multitask without a decline in performance.

Weight and overall health: Too much screen time is associated with weight gain, less exercise and poorer eating habits. If you have little time to exercise or prepare healthy meals, ask yourself how much time you spend in front of a screen each day. If you don’t have time to prioritize your health, cutting back on screen time is essential.

Sleep: Studies consistently show that using a digital device—especially within one hour of bedtime—can make it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep. This increases your likelihood of insomnia, shorter sleep duration and anxiety. Additionally, one study found a connection between nighttime device use and higher body mass index (BMI).

Signs you’re overly dependent on technology

How do you know if you’re getting too much screen time? Here are some common signs:

• You check your phone every few minutes and feel like you’ll miss something if you don’t continue checking in.

• You feel stressed when you can’t locate your phone.

• You’re preoccupied with how many likes, comments and shares you get on social media.

• You have a hard time focusing on one task at a time without checking your phone.

• You have difficulty being present with your family and friends, often checking your device during meals and conversations.

• You stay up late or wake up early to spend time on your device.

• You feel stress, anxiety, anger or depression after spending time on social media.

How to reduce screen time

Try these tips to cut back on screen time and maintain better health.

Do a short digital detox: Silence and put away your phone/computer/tablet or most-used device for an hour once a week. Eventually, you could work your way up to a whole day or even week of a digital or social media fast.

Turn off devices an hour before bedtime: You’ll sleep better and, ultimately, reap many health benefits.

Don’t keep social media apps on your phone: If you want to check a social media app, set a timer for 10 minutes, then delete the app when the timer goes off.

Turn off notifications: Change your settings so you don’t get alerts for emails, news, social media platforms, texts and calls.

Set aside time to check in: Perhaps you reserve 30 minutes a day to respond to texts, notifications and calls.

Use a focus-boosting app: There are many apps and programs that create custom blocklists on your computer or smartphone.

While it can be initially uncomfortable to cut back on screen time, you’ll ultimately enjoy better physical and mental health, sleep, productivity, and contentment.

If you struggle with internet addiction, anxiety, depression or other health problems, talk to your primary care provider. To find a provider near you, visit www.pardeehospital.org.

Dr. Charles Maker is a board-certified internal medicine physician at Pardee Medical Associates.

This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Here are some tips for finding a healthy screen time balance