We all know that a healthy work life balance is not only important for our health & relationships, but it also has a great impact on our productivity & day to day performance. But in the past few years, the inability to separate work from home has massively increased as we are constantly in touch with each other via mobile phones & laptops. During the ongoing pandemic, our gadgets made it easy for us to continue our work from where we are, but with excess usage, it is proving to be detrimental to our physical as well as mental health too. In recent research, it has been found that overuse of gadgets is increasing depression, anxiety & restlessness in people. Now this calls for a break from this tech savvy world through digital detox. Wondering what exactly it is? Let’s find out! 

What Is Digital Detox? 

Digital detox, in simple terms, is a time frame when you voluntarily stay away from your gadgets like smartphones, laptops & social media. It can be whatever you want it to be. One might try giving up usage of all digital devices at once for a specific time period. In other cases, one might just focus on restricting their use of one type of digital device like their smartphone.

Reasons To Do It 

Digital detox can be a way to set limits & reduce following negative outcomes due to heavy usage of devices:

• While people often feel that spending time with their devices can be a stress buster after a long and tiring day, the truth is that it can greatly contribute to stress.
• Researchers have proved that prolonged use of devices around bed time can interfere with sleep quality & quantity. It can lead to issues like insomnia, anxiety & shorter sleep duration.
• Heavy usage of devices can decrease your attention span as they create unwanted distractions.
• Constant connectivity with the world around, makes us feel disconnected with ourselves & affects work life balance too.
• Comparison of your life with that of others, based on curated glimpses we see on someone’s instagram or facebook post, can make it hard to be content.
• Digital connectivity can feed the fear of missing out. It can lead a person to feel that their life is less exciting than others.

Signs That You Might Need It 

• Feeling anxiety or stress if the phone is not around for a while or when the battery is discharged.
• Feeling compelled to check the phone every now & then.
• Depression, anxiety or anger after spending time on social media.
• Overthinking about likes, comments & shares on social posts.
• Feeling afraid of missing out on something if the phone is not checked after every few minutes.
• Inability to resist using the phone till late hours.
• Trouble concentrating on one thing without having to check the phone.

Does Digital Detox Work? 

Many psychologists & mental health experts agree that digital detox can be a helpful approach to technology overuse. However, one time detox might not help you get back into your groove mentally & emotionally. Rather, it is probably one of the most effective tools if it is used as a way to kickstart a healthier relationship with technology.

Now that’s not all about digital detox. To understand how digital detox helps, what happens to your body & brain during a digital detox and challenges you might face as well as easy ways to do a digital detox, watch out for part 2 of this article! 

We hope this helps you understand what a digital detox is and why it is necessary. For more on wellness and mental health, check out Healthy Reads or tune in to LIVE sessions by experts on GOQii Play. To get these tips and hacks directly from your GOQii Coach, subscribe to personalized coaching now: https://goqiiapp.page.link/wssu 

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