Life Beyond a Screen: How can Reducing Screen Time Help with Managing Stress?

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes… including you.” – Anne Lamott

Have you ever wondered how much time we spend staring at a screen, instead of living our lives beyond it? According to The Independent, the average person worldwide spends 6 hours and 35 minutes daily on a screen. This number might not seem alarming but in retrospect, it’s quite high, given the fact that in reality, it’s much greater.

Not only does spending time on staring at a screen deter our quality of life, but it also affects our mood and stress. Research shows that the light and different stimuli generated by our screens, whether that is our phone, our laptop, tablet, etc. have severe repercussions to our Central Nervous System, affecting our mood and increasing our stress levels. As a result, we become angry, hostile, and unfeeling towards others. Screen time can also become addictive, causing further issues in an individual’s everyday life.

Here are some ways to detox from the digital world and in turn, reduce stress levels:

• Avoid any electronic devices during lunch/dinner time – By doing so, you get to focus on something else and enjoy the time you have to eat, especially if there are others on the table with you.
• Turn off notifications from social media apps – From time to time, it’s good to turn off notifications from social media apps in order to avoid distractions and help focus on other activities throughout the day.
  In addition, turning off social media notifications allows an individual to focus on their own life and not live through somebody else’s life on the internet. What we see on social media is never a true representation of an individual.
• Avoid using electronic devices during your time with family/friends – When surrounded by family/friends, or any other company, it’s best to avoid using electronic devices, especially during conversations with other people.
  When some is talking, they usually want your undivided attention.
• Limit TV time every day – Limiting TV time opens up opportunities for other activities throughout the day, ones which might be more proactive and useful.

Apart from finding ways to limit screentime, it’s also important to find ways to alleviate stress. Below are some alternatives to screen time and ways to reduce stress.

• Reading
• Spending time in nature
• Listening to music
• Playing board games

All the recommendations above are alternatives to spending time on electronic devices, and apart from that, the above recommendations are techniques for reducing stress, since they promote relaxation and ease of mind, as well as reduce the stress hormone (cortisol) in the brain.

Spending time staring at a screen and forgetting to live our lives beyond that, adds to the daily stressors that every individual deals with in their personal and professional lives. Therefore, it’s always important to find ways to reduce screen time within our daily lives, and find other ways to occupy ourselves.