The Benefits of a Technology-Free Day

We’re surrounded by technology, and even if you can’t afford to be without it, you do need to know how to unplug. Have you been checking your phone during dinner? Are you scrolling social media when you’re hanging out with friends? Maybe it’s time for a break. Too much time using technology can cause loneliness, sleep deprivation, stress, and even health issues. Here are a few of the benefits of enjoying a technology-free day from time to time.

Benefit #1 – Sleep Better
Technology can keep you from getting the sleep you need for a couple of reasons. First, the blue light of screens can impact melatonin production in the brain, delaying sleep. It’s also easy to do a quick check of a device that leads to prolonged periods of use, keeping you from getting to sleep at night. And if you sleep with your phone close by, texts or calls or other notifications can disrupt your sleep, too.

Benefit #2 – Reduce Stress
The body and brain both need some time off, and if you’re always ‘on,’ it’s not healthy for your body or mind. Unplugging for a day lets you reconnect with yourself, so you have time to relax without the stress of checking work emails or keeping up with what’s new on social media.

Benefit #3 – Improve Your Physical Health
Spending hours hunched over a phone or staring at your computer for hours isn’t good for your body. It can strain the eyes, back, neck, brain, arms, and hands, particularly if you spend time engaging with technology at work all day and then jump back into it at home. When your body gets a break from technology it gives the stressed parts of the body a break, and you’ll also have some extra time to go enjoy some physical activity.

Benefit #4 – Boost Mental Health
Engaging with social media via technology often leads to feelings of dissatisfaction, envy, depression, and loneliness to grow. Taking a day off from looking at what others are doing and choosing to be grateful for what you have is essential.

Benefit #5 – Deepen Your Connections
Although engaging with others via our devices and on social media promises you’ll have social connection, the best connections are still face-to-face. Humans need those physical connections, and taking a technology break gives you time to sit down with people you love and enjoy being together.

Plan a technology-free day from time to time to enjoy these physical and mental benefits. And even when you go tech-free for a day, don’t forget your Prevagen supplement. It offers great benefits, too, like improving your memory and boosting brain health.