Is Your Phone Affecting Your Mental Health? 10 Tips To Help You Switch Off.
When was the last time you went somewhere without your phone? Or sat on the train, waited for a friend, cooked a meal or stood in a queue without automatically reaching for it? For most of us, our phones have become such a normal part of everyday life that we barely notice how often we pick them up.
We use them to message friends, check emails, find directions, listen to music, read the news, take photographs, shop and scroll through social media. There are obviously lots of positive things about having so much available to us in one small device. However, there has also been a lot in the media recently about how much time we're spending on our phones and what this might be doing to our concentration, reading habits and mental health.
For young adults in particular, this constant stream of information has become a very normal part of life.
But switching our attention from one thing to another all the time can make it feel increasingly difficult to concentrate on just one thing. You might sit down to do some work, revise for an exam and find yourself checking your phone five minutes later. You may start watching a film and then realise you're scrolling through Instagram at the same time. Or you might pick up your phone to reply to one message and find yourself still looking at it half an hour later. Recent YouGov research found that more than half of 18–24-year-olds surveyed felt smartphones had affected their ability to concentrate.
What about reading? Perhaps you used to love reading but now find yourself reading the same paragraph several times because your mind has wandered. Or you read a few pages and suddenly feel the urge to check your phone. There has been growing concern about the decline in reading for pleasure among younger people. Getting absorbed in a book can give us something that scrolling often doesn't: an opportunity to slow down and focus on just one thing. Research suggests that reading for pleasure can also support our mental health and wellbeing, helping us to relax, switch off and take a break from the stresses of everyday life.
So how might your phone be affecting your mental health? Your phone might help you feel connected to friends and family, it might make you laugh, introduce you to new ideas or help you find information quickly. However, it may mean that you rarely completely switch off. Perhaps you check work emails in the evening, you see photographs of friends having a wonderful time and suddenly feel as though everyone else's life is more exciting than yours. You read one worrying news story and then another. Or you lie in bed intending to scroll for only five minutes before reading your book and suddenly realise an hour has passed and you have not picked up your book at all. Over time, this may affect how you feel about yourself, increase feelings of anxiety or simply leave you feeling mentally overwhelmed.
If you've started to feel that your phone is taking up more of your time and attention than you would like and it is affecting your well-being, here are 10 tips that may help:
1. Find out how much time you're spending on your phone. Have a look at your screen time. You might be surprised by the number. This isn't about making yourself feel guilty. It's simply about becoming more aware of how much time you're spending on your phone and which apps are taking up most of it.
Then ask yourself Am I happy with this?
2. Turn off notifications you don't need. Every ping or vibration encourages you to stop what you're doing and look at your phone. Try turning off some of your non-essential notifications. Let yourself decide when you want to look at your phone rather than allowing your phone to constantly decide for you.
3. Be present in the moment. If you are watching tv, watch tv. If you are going for a walk, walk. If you are eating dinner, eat dinner. Whatever it is you are doing, try doing just that one thing without your phone. It may feel surprisingly difficult at first but it will get easier and you may begin to notice that you’re able to concentrate for longer without automatically reaching for your phone. Being more present can also give your mind a break from constant stimulation and help you feel calmer and less overwhelmed.
4. Start reading again – even for 10 minutes. If you've fallen out of the habit of reading, perhaps start with reading ten minutes every night. Choose something you genuinely want to read rather than something you think you should read. Put your phone somewhere you can't easily reach it and see what happens. If your concentration wanders, that's okay; bring yourself back to the page and carry on. You may find that, over time, reading becomes not only easier but also an enjoyable way to switch off and relax.
5. Allow yourself to be bored. It is ok to feel bored. Try standing in a queue without scrolling. Sit on the Tube and look around you. Walk to the shops without checking your phone. Let your mind wander.
Giving your mind some space can help you slow down and become more aware of what you are thinking and feeling. Sometimes it is when we are not constantly distracting ourselves that we begin to process our thoughts and feelings rather than avoiding them.
6. Keep your phone away from your bed. Is your phone the last thing you look at at night and the first thing you reach for in the morning? Using your phone late at night can affect your sleep. You may find yourself staying awake for longer than you intended because you keep scrolling, while messages, social media or news can leave your mind feeling more alert just when you're trying to switch off.
Try giving yourself a little space from your phone before bed. Perhaps charge it on the other side of the bedroom or if you can, outside your room. 30-60 minutes without your phone before you go to sleep can give your mind a chance to slow down and help you wind down for the night.
Try not to reach for your phone the moment you wake up either. Starting the day with messages, emails, news and social media can mean your mind is immediately filled with other people's demands and information. Give yourself a little time to wake up, have a shower, get dressed or eat breakfast before checking your phone. You may find it helps you start the day feeling a little calmer and more in control.
7. Notice how you feel after scrolling. How do you feel after spending half an hour on social media?Relaxed? Entertained? Connected? Or anxious, inadequate, lonely or as though everyone else is doing better than you? Pay attention to which accounts make you feel good and which regularly leave you feeling worse. You don't have to keep following people or use apps that make you feel bad about yourself.
8. Have some phone-free times. Find times during your day when a 'no phone' period feels achievable.
Perhaps don't use your phone while you are eating. Leave it in another room while you watch a film or while you're working or revising for an exam. Try having some phone-free time every day and notice whether it makes a difference to your concentration, how present you feel and your overall wellbeing.
9. Replace the scrolling with something else. What could you replace scrolling with? Read, exercise, cook, listen to music, go for a walk, meet a friend, do something creative etc. It doesn't matter what it is. The important thing is that you're choosing what to do with your time rather than automatically reaching for your phone and these activities can give your mind a break from the constant stream of information on your phone. They can also help you feel more present, connected and relaxed and you may find that you feel better than you do after half an hour of scrolling. The aim isn't simply to spend less time on your phone. It's to make more space for things that are good for your wellbeing.
10. Ask yourself why you're picking up your phone. Perhaps you pick up your phone because you are bored or perhaps to avoid how you are feeling. Perhaps you have had a tough day and scrolling gives you somewhere else to put your attention.
The next time you automatically reach for your phone, pause for a moment and ask yourself 'How am I feeling right now?'. Becoming more aware of how you are feeling in the moment can help you understand why you might be reaching for your phone and over time, find other ways to manage those feelings.
Could therapy help? If you find it difficult to switch off your phone, spend a lot of time comparing yourself with other people on social media or notice that you're constantly using your phone to distract yourself from how you're feeling, it may be helpful to explore what's going on for you. Sometimes constantly keeping ourselves busy or distracted can be a way of avoiding feelings such as anxiety, loneliness, low self-esteem, stress or uncertainty. If this sounds familiar, you don't have to work through it alone.
Therapy can give you a confidential space to slow down, understand what you're feeling and think about different ways of managing it. I work with young adults, students and professionals experiencing anxiety, overthinking, low self-esteem, stress and difficult life transitions.
You may also like: Is Instagram affecting your mental health?
Comments