Research suggests the average American adult spends more than 11 hours per day watching, reading, listening to or simply interacting with media. So, assuming you get the recommended 8 hours of sleep, the average person is spending nearly 70 percent of their waking hours staring at a screen. That is an astounding statistic! Taking the time to remove the electronic devices from the flow of our daily life is hard. Whether we are trying to stay connected with friends and family, checking emails, completing business tasks, or streaming movies on Netflix, everything involves staring at a screen. So, it is necessary to take breaks from screen time throughout the day for the health of your mind and body.
Your Mind and Body Will Benefit from Daily Technology Fasts
Reduces Stress
Spending nearly half of our day facing a screen can completely clog our minds with so much information that we become overloaded. Simply stepping away from the computer or placing the smartphone in another room can immediately relieve your mind and lower stress levels.
Improves Your Focus
The longer your spend staring at a screen, the shorter your attention span becomes and the harder it is to maintain your focus. Taking breaks from screens can give your mind the boost it needs to refocus on your tasks.
Enhances Memory
Prolonged screen time is essentially overloading our minds, making it difficult to retain all of the information. A simple break from technology gives your mind a much needed rest to help retain and digest the information while optimizing your memory capacity.
Helps You Sleep Better
Sleep is one of the most important factors affecting the health of our mind and body. Our lives are already so consumed by technology. The last thing we need is our sleep to be disrupted as well. Since the blue light of computer and smartphone screens negatively impact the brain’s production of melatonin, it is recommended to avoid any screentime for at least an hour before going to bed. Turning off notifications is also a good idea to prevent any unplanned media engagement or stimulations which could keep you awake for much longer than intended.
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Alleviates Eye Strain
Staring at a screen for almost half of the day can cause eye strain or even Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS). The symptoms of CVS are blurred vision, eye redness, dry eyes, and watery eyes. Eventually, CVS could lead to conciderable eye problems. Therefore, it is recommended to adjust the light on the screens and to use the 20-20-20- rule. Take frequent breaks from screens by looking at something at least 20 feet away, every 20 minutes, for 20 minutes.
Prevents Headaches
Headaches are a very common ailment from staring at screens. Suffering from migraines while trying to focus can be difficult, inhibiting your ability to concentrate. However, simply taking intermittent breaks from screen time throughout the day can drastically improve any discomfort caused from headaches.
There is an evergrowing dependency on technology to stay connected with friends and family and also be available at all times for work or school. In turn, our mind and body suffers the consequences. With so many negative effects of constant screen time, it is more important than ever to take breaks and unplug from media and reduce our daily screen time. Those small breaks add up, and your mind and body will reap the benefits.
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