Do you spend more hours with your phone or laptop than you do with other people, like colleagues, family, or friends? This is the sad reality of most people these days, but taking a conscious break from screens is harder than you think. Good thing there are plenty of opportunities to go on a digital detox, whether at a yoga retreat center or other settings that will allow you to reconnect with yourself and the world.
Digital Detox: Getting Into the Heart of It
A digital detox, decluttering, or minimalism calls for a complete switch-off from all things digital, including your TV. You disconnect completely or go off the grid for the purpose of reducing stress and focusing on your health, including a mental wellness journey.
- Press pause on screen use, social media, emails and other influx of notifications
- Set a goal to repair imbalances in the mind, body, and emotions brought on by prolonged digital exposure
- Detoxification can last for hours or weeks, depending on the goal
- Some people set a time per day to disconnect, while others prefer to schedule longer breaks
With our dependence on technology, it’s almost impossible to ditch it forever, but you can’t take a break from it and create healthier boundaries.
Why Unplugging Is More Important Than Ever
When was the last time you ate without using your phone or tablet at the same time? Have you been accused of not being present or multitasking during conversations more times than you can count? And with poor health outcomes related to passive and interactive screen times, unplugging matters more than ever.
- Reduce stress caused by feelings of anxiety and jealousy that happened as a result of excessive screen time, especially social media
- Eliminate distractions that can hamper focus, productivity, and creative thinking
- Improve sleep quality without a screen’s blue light disrupting melatonin production necessary for helping you fall asleep
- Enhance, deepen, or rekindle relationships that experienced strain due to digital devices affecting real-life connections
- Provides opportunities to recharge your energy as you step away from online noise that causes burnout
How Yoga and Meditation Assist in Digital Detox
As two practices that promote mindfulness and self-awareness, yoga and meditation not only help you disconnect from the digital world but also reconnect with yourself.
- Yoga helps re-establish the link between your mind and body that may have been severed because you’ve been hunched over your desk or phone for a long time
- Meditation helps clear your mind of any mental chatter that’s causing your brain to constantly reach for your phone for one reason or another
- Yoga and meditation teach you to tune in to what’s good for your body (breathing and focus) and tune out online clutter and chaos
Best Practices for a Successful Digital Decluttering
Just like anything you want to pursue, it’s important to establish a routine and follow best practices to unplug successfully. It’s not enough that you have the will to use devices only at certain times of the day, but you also must have the commitment to see it through day in and day out. Digital detoxing is a lifelong journey that needs the right habits to become a sustainable practice.
Take it one step at a time rather than taking a leap that may result in a shallow and weak resolve:
- Know exactly why you’re taking a break from screen time and set a goal to achieve. It’s the best way to break a habit and stick with your plans.
- Make the journey easier by involving friends, family, and colleagues, informing them ahead of time when you’ll be offline and what to expect during those times.
- Make sure you’re doing something meaningful while detoxing rather than nothing at all. You don’t want screen time to be an excuse to fill the time.
- Identify and list down activities where tech use is strictly prohibited, such as while eating, talking, while with friends and family, and the like.
- Establish a tech-free zone at home, where zero digital devices are allowed, and only offline activities are welcomed.
- Practice daily mindfulness to help your detox efforts stick. Daily meditation or deep breathing for ten minutes or so will go a long way.
Going on a digital detox, especially if you’ve been dependent on your laptop or phone for an extended period, can be frightening. What are the odds of you succeeding or even surviving the mental challenges you experience during detoxification? However, if you focus on the benefits you’ll gain if you do succeed, making the choice to put your phone away and disconnect will be easier. Set yourself up for success by taking a mindful break at Healthy Living Yoga to restore your overall health.
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