Here I am writing about a digital detox on a digital device. The irony right? But nowadays we live in the digital age. There are laptops, internet access and smartphones 24/7 and let’s not forget the social media. It may seem impossible to plug away from the noise of the digital world. But over and over again we hear about the benefits of doing so. There is a lot of research behind these things now because smartphones are such a big part of our lives and this research shows that if we unplug once in a while we are likely to:
- improve our capacity to learn
- lower stress
- lower anxiety
- increased focus
- better sleep
- weight loss
- better mood
- sugar control
And for ideas on how to do a digital detox check out my Pinterest board and self improvement for moms for digital detox challenges that get you started.
Maybe you are in a season where you could use a digital detox, I wanted to speak about why you should and some natural remedies to consider as well for your brain health to support your detox and beyond.
Popular reasons to detox
Depression & Anxiety
Do you ever find yourself scrolling through your social media feed and start comparing yourself to someone else’s highlight reel? Or maybe get sucked into a political debate and things get heated? Or are constantly looking at news stories about everything going wrong in the world?
Even writing those things can give me anxiety.
When we take a break from those things then we have lower levels of stress because we are not exposed to the information. And stopping the endless scrolling through social media will decrease our anxiety and depression as studies prove as well. (1)
Focus
Multitasking is not really a natural thing we need to be doing. As moms maybe we find that middle ground for handling toddlers and babies and laundry and dinner all at the same time, but add switching between screens and constantly being bombarded with information on our smartphones makes us less sufficient in the long run. We loose our cognitive edge when we multitask all the time. Doing more than one thing at a time and trying to multitask also increases our stress hormone, cortisol and adrenaline which takes a toll on our energy levels and increase the chances of getting adrenal fatigue. (2)
Have you ever had the phone on the table while you are out eating with friends? Or maybe had the phone next to you while you were reading with your kids? Have you noticed that it is so much more tempting to go on your phone while you are sitting there or maybe picking up the phone just to see if you have a notification? According to this study, we get stressed and decrease cognitive performance just by having a phone in the same room even if we are not using it.
By putting our phones in a different room designated for tech drop off zones, not having a phone for a day, or having a cut off time for when you are using your technical devices can really make a difference with stress levels while increasing health in areas such as your digestive system, immune system, cardiovascular system and respiratory system. (3)
Sleep
When we are constantly exposed to blue light from our devices, when it comes to sleep, our body registers blue light as daylight causing sleep disturbances. Since we are exposed to it for a long period of time our production of melatonin starts to decrease making it more difficult to have deep sleep and rejuvenating rest. (4) Poor sleep has a lot of health risks tied to it including:
- weigh gain
- low immunity
- mood swings
Avoiding devices is one piece of the puzzle that could be contributing to poor sleep and it is one that can really benefit your mental and physical state if you try and avoid blue light at least 20 min before bed and not just detox for a short period of time from screens.
Herbs for support
If you are thinking about doing a digital detox or planning on a limit for the amount of time that you spend in front of the blue screen, herbs are here to support you on your journey!
There are specific herbs that I love working with, even with people that ask for guidance in memory or brain health after a stroke, these herbs are especially great because they have been known to promote growth of new neurons, soothe nerves that are frazzled and promote cognitive function.
Some herbs to look into in order to complement your own technology detox are:
- Rhodiola
- Gotu Kola
- Ginko
- Lions Mane
- Reishi
- Bacopa
- Ashwagangha
Some of these do have contradictions, so make sure you speak with your doctor before adding any new supplements to your routine.
You can always reach out for your free 20 min consultation to see if the one month program might be a good fit if you need brain and nerve support beyond a digital detox.
Final thoughts
If you are thinking about a digital detox or maybe just simplifying your technology use for the long run, there are many benefits to doing so.
I invite you to spend this extra time to connect with your children, spend time in nature, slow down and do one task at a time, use this time to pray or take up a hobby.
In the beginning, the dopamine withdrawal will be hard but then your brain will know that you might just survive if you don’t pick up your phone and start building a new neural pathway for what brings you joy.
I hope you give it a try and I’m confident that you will like what you discover in the process.
God bless you and yours,
Krystina
