We came across a study recently that sparked our interest in a big way and we want to share it with you via our One Good Thing post this month. The study evaluated mental health, well-being, and attention span and what happens when smartphone use is significantly limited. You may not be surprised to learn that 91% of the participants who participated in this digital detox showed improvement in at least one of these areas and that the magnitude of the improvement in mental health was as good or better than that from taking an antidepressant! People didn’t have to give up their phones or the internet completely to get these results, they just had to shift from phone to laptop for activities other than calls and texts.
This month, we encourage you to undertake a digital detox. It will help you find more fulfillment in life. It’s simple (though not necessarily easy) and we share some techniques to help. There are a host of benefits to be had. We hope to inspire you to put yourself on a digital detox where you decide whether you want to do a little or a lot, and see for yourself if you can bring more of these benefits into your life.
Finding More Fulfillment
Before we get into the specific techniques for doing a digital detox, we want to highlight one of the main reasons we think you would be doing yourself an incredible favor in doing so: it will give you a framework for replacing screen time with something (anything!) much more fulfilling. The study mentioned above showed a reduction from just over 5 hours of screen time per day to just under 3 hours – that’s still a lot but who wouldn’t like to get 2 more hours of time each day? Imagine having more time for self-care, spending time with friends and family, exercise, hobbies, reading, music, and more! Let your digital detox be a catalyst for finding more fulfillment in your life. (If you are drawing a blank on things to do for self-care, check out our blog series on self-care mini-retreats.)
How to Approach a Digital Detox: Some Techniques
A digital detox can be a great way to improve your mood, attention span and mental health, not to mention recharge and reconnect with the world around you in an authentic way. Here are a few techniques to consider as you develop a plan that will be most effective for you. Some of these will apply to your smartphone, some to your computer, some to both.
- Observe 30-Minute Windows – Avoid screens for the first and last 30 minutes of your day. Find other places in the day you can set your phone aside for half an hour. Instead of scrolling, use this time for self-care, exercise, meditation, reading, or journaling.
- Create Tech-Free Zones – Designate areas in your home where devices are not allowed (e.g., the bedroom, dining table). This encourages face-to-face interactions and better focus.
- Update your Phone Settings – Switch your phone to grayscale to reduce the appeal of mindless scrolling. Colors are designed to be engaging—removing them can lessen distractions. Put your phone in airplane mode when you’re not actively using it.
- Purge / Relocate Social Media – Delete apps for a set period, or use website blockers to limit access. Unfollow accounts that don’t add value to your life. In the study we shared, participants did not have any social media accounts on their phones – phones were used only for phone calls and text messages. However, access to social media and internet via laptop or desktop computers was allowed.
- Declutter Your Digital Environments – Unsubscribe from unnecessary emails. Turn off non-essential notifications. Remove unused apps to limit distractions.
We’ve linked a couple of articles below with even more tips and ideas. You might think of other possibilities, too! It’s important to tailor your detox based on how you use your devices.
Self-Reflection: An Important Component
Do take a moment to decide how long you want to detox—whether it’s a weekend, a full week, certain hours each day, or even 30 days as suggested by Regis University. It may be helpful to set specific goals. Are you cutting out social media? Reducing screen time? Avoiding work emails outside of office hours? Factor these into your plan.
Consider what “good use” of your devices means to you. Smartphones offer us incredible conveniences, learning opportunities, and ways to stay connected with others. But not all use is good use, and terms like “scrolling addiction,” “doom scrolling” and “brain rot” were invented to speak to the detrimental and anxiety-producing effects of too much mindless scrolling.
As you progress through your detox, take a little time to reflect on your experience. Make note of how challenging it is for you. Pay attention to how you feel without constant digital noise. Notice improvements in focus, sleep, and stress levels. Decide if you want to make some of these “temporary” changes more permanent to maintain a healthy balance moving forward.
Finally, keep in mind that as with creating any new habits, for most people a phased approach with small steps introduced gradually over time can be more successful and more long-lasting than jumping in with extremes.
Benefits of a Digital Detox
So, in addition to finding more fulfillment in life, here are a few more key benefits you may realize as you reduce the amount of time you spend with your devices:
- Improved Mental Health – Reduces stress and anxiety from constant notifications and online comparisons. Helps prevent digital burnout and information overload. Allows you to reflect without digital noise influencing your thoughts.
- Increased Focus & Productivity – Less time spent scrolling means more time for meaningful tasks. Encourages deeper work and creativity without digital distractions.
- Better Sleep – Avoiding screens before bedtime improves melatonin production, leading to deeper sleep. Reduces blue light exposure that interferes with your body’s natural sleep cycle.
- Boosted Physical Health – Encourages more movement, whether it’s walking, stretching, or engaging in hobbies. Reduces eye strain and headaches from prolonged screen exposure.
Go For It!
Whether you’re looking for better sleep or just a break from the digital noise, a detox can be a powerful reset. You can change your habits and form new ones. You can substitute high quality, fulfilling activities for low quality, anxiety-producing screen time. You can take a small step that leads to small improvements, and bigger steps that lead to bigger improvements.
If you’re not ready for a full-on detox, consider using one of the screen time apps to see how much time you spend in each app on your phone and decide for yourself if that’s how you want to spend your time. Check out the articles below for even more encouragement to take this challenge – it just might get your summer off to a most excellent start!
More Reading:
- Blocking mobile internet on smartphones improves sustained attention, mental health, and subjective well-being | PNAS Nexus – Oxford Academic – https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/4/2/pgaf017/8016017
- 30-Day Digital Detox Challenge – Regis University – https://www.regis.edu/news/2023/regis-life/11/digital-detox-challenge
- Digital Detox: A Manageable, 10-Step Guide – https://www.health.com/mind-body/digital-detox
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At Satori Integrative Medicine Clinic, our services include integrative medicine, ketamine, lidocaine, NAD+ infusions, and medical acupuncture. Located in Glenwood Springs, we serve Aspen, Glenwood Springs, Basalt, Carbondale, Grand Junction, the Roaring Fork Valley, and western Colorado.
We encourage our patients to incorporate self-care practices, such as those described above, into daily life as part of a comprehensive treatment plan for: major depression, the depressed phase of bipolar disorder (bipolar depression), postpartum depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), pain syndromes such as fibromyalgia and complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), also known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD), and addiction.
If you or someone you know suffers from any of these conditions and this approach to health and wellness resonates with you, please contact us for more information.
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