Lifestyle

5 Scientifically-Proven Health Benefits of Doing a Digital Detox and How to Do It

Digital detox means some certain time windows which are determined for abstaining self, away from any digital platforms like computers, mobile phones, gadgets, etc. Nowadays, such kind of lifestyle starts to gain some fame among millennials since it is believed that it may foster a healthy life cycle.

In that case, there is an increasing number of experts from certain studies who have conducted some scientific researches about this phenomenon. It had been done, not because they want to know about the positive benefits only, but also to explore more in details.

Thus, from the finding of the researches, there are some points needed to be alert. Not only there are many health benefits of apple watch series 3, but here are also five scientifically-proven health benefits of doing a digital detox and how to do it.

1. Give a break to your mental state.

Do you know that an exaggerated digital consumption, especially ‘too much’ social media, will affect one’s psychological state?

At least, that is based on the latest research where they discover the findings.

You may believe the experts when they said that some ‘psychological consequences’ would appear when one has already arrived within the ‘too much’ level of digital belonging and the consequences much likely take shape as negative effects.

So, not only singing your hear out has surprising psychological benefits, but by doing the digital detox it also works too!

Some psychological disorders, like anxiety or drug abuser, come as the result of continued functional deficiency and distress caused by gadget addiction.

In this case, it may help you to keep your mental state still ‘intact’ when you gradually committing the digital detox.

Once you away from the gadgets thing, you’ll realize that, actually, there are also many fascinating thing in your life outside the cyber world. More importantly, those things will keep your mind still ‘balance’.

2. Push the tech-craving away.

We know that our gadgets are so intoxicating. It affects us, so much, ‘till in some ways, they deflect us from our chores.

This phenomenon were seen by the expert as a quite something since, from their further study, people tend to crave the gadgets more when they already have addicted to them.

It is explained, when people already got addicted, they grow too much sense of belonging upon their gadget.

So, as the act of prevention, the digital detox can be used. Since the detox itself is meant to keep our self away from all of those electronic devices, it will avoid us to get addicted.

Just give yourself a time – moment of quality, the period which you spend to develop the very self of yours. Or maybe a little rest and quick nap may also work.

3. Yes, you can live without your gadget.

Maybe you ever wondered about what would happen with your life when you got away from all of your gadgets. Will I survive the days?

How if something important happened and it’s already too late for me? May I still accepted by the community? Thus, the answer is: Yes! You’re going to be alright.

When people are already too fond with their gadget, they will feel uncomfortable upon its abstinence in a prolonged duration.

It was shown from the research where all of the participants would feel ‘better’ when they were reunited with their own gadget after some certain separation moment.

It was caused as the outcome of what they called as ‘pre-empting abstinence mood’. That’s why the digital detoxification can ‘console’ you.

Since you will be having some time without them, self will be used to the condition of ‘neutral’ – give you an ‘okay’ feeling even though the gadget is absence from the surrounding.

4. It makes you smarter.

Before we talk further about it, I won’t saying that too much digital activity will degenerate your brain volume or what.

But the real things is, gadget too often, will distract you from your study lessons.

Based on the latest research about the effect of too much gadget consumption upon student’s life, it is clear that the more you play with it, the less concentrate you will become.

Back in 2013, a research had been done to see the effect of smartphone on students during the class, and more than 80% of the respondents said that it caused them to not focus toward the lesson and miss the instructions given by the teacher/lecturer.  

It can make you focus to the moment within the lesson instead of what happened outside.

5. It cures insomnia.

If you have trouble sleeping at night it may be an early indication that you already arrive at the level of too much gadget and digital consumption.

A study from Harvard showed that the effect of blue light from gadget screen or the LCD may disturbing the user body chemical system in producing a specific brain hormone.

This hormone is responsible for creating the drowsiness. In that case, some insomnia may be solved by diminishing the frequencies of gadget exposure. Thus, you may get some sleep, if the gadget and digital things go away.

Not only some health benefits of electricity therapy that we can use, but also the digital detox. In this case, for those who want to start a better life by doing the digital detoxification, we will give some initial steps:

  • Motivate yourself. That’s a cliche but incredibly important in this precinct, although there are many cognitive benefit of playing video games everyday.
  • Turn-off the notification of your phone. It will reduce the curiosity upon your phone.
  • Start from the most important activity. Like when you are studying, eating (you can also try the olives as a snack, since there are many health benefits of eating black olives, more than you know), being with someone important, etc.
  • Plan it carefully. Think about what you are going to do in such period.
  • Get away from the crowds. Sometimes we play the gadget since we want to be ‘seen’ it, especially when we are in the middle of the open public places.
  • Be stranded. If it has quite difficult already, try to go somewhere else where signal or phone services aren’t available.
  • Feel it through. Make sure that your detoxification period has quality, amusing, enjoyable and worth your effort as the sake of self-development.

And those are five scientifically-proven health benefits of doing a digital detox and how to do it, which can add some insight for you.

Sources:

Ugur, N. G., & Koc, T. (2015). Time for digital detox: Misuse of mobile technology and phubbing. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 195, 1022-1031.

Wilcockson, T. D., Osborne, A. M., & Ellis, D. A. (2019). Digital detox: The effect of smartphone abstinence on mood, anxiety, and craving. Addictive behaviors, 99, 106013.