Take a second to think about how much you use your phone. Whether you’re team iPhone or team Android, you likely check it first thing in the morning and use it right up until you close your eyes at night. Even if you aren’t using your phone at the moment, it’s definitely within reach, and let’s be real: you probably even bring your phone into the bathroom with you, right?

It’s no secret that phones are addictive, and many of us can’t put them down or stop checking our notifications.One surveyfound that throughout the day, 65.6% of people check their phones a whopping 160 times a day. Enter: National Day of Unplugging.

National Day of Unplugging

Holidays are typically anything but phone-free. That’s why there’s a designated day to unplug and give yourself a break from excessive screen time. TheNational Day of Unpluggingis the perfect chance to challenge yourself to put your phone down for once. The National Day of Unplugging was founded in 2009, and the holiday’s mission is stronger now than ever. As we’re coming up on the one year anniversary of quarantine, there’s no better time to experience 24 hours of zero phone use. This year’s National Day of Unplugging is March 5th-6th, and there are plenty of reasons why you should unplug.

Why Unplugging is Beneficial for Your Mental Health

You may not realize it, but excessive phone use — and in turn,social media use— isn’t great for your mental health. The higher your screen time, the more detrimental the effects and significant social media usage is linked todepressionandloneliness.

To test this, researchers at theUniversity of Pennsylvaniaassigned 143 undergraduate students to two groups. For three weeks, one group was told to use social media as they normally would, and the other was told to limit daily social media activity to a total of 30 minutes. The researchers found that those who limited their use experienced significant reductions in depression and loneliness than those who didn’t. Therefore, reducing your screen time can benefit your emotional wellbeing, which is certainly a reason to unplug.

Social media use contributes to playing“the comparison game.”When you scroll through your feed, you’re bombarded with photo after photo, and chances are, you’re consciously or unconsciously comparing yourself to everything you see. Maybe you’re single and you feel down about it every time you see a new engagement photo, or maybe you’re comparing your body to posts from models or influencers. Regardless of the situation, it’s clear that social media fuels comparison, which can lead to lower life satisfaction and self esteem — according toresearchit can even lead to eating disorders.

There’s a simple fix for all of this, but it’s easier said than done: reduce your screen time. By spending less time on your phone, you’ll reap noticeable benefits and reduce your risk of loneliness, depression, and poorself esteem. If you’re struggling with any of these issues, ask yourself: could my screen time be at least partially to blame for this? If so, that gives you all the more reason to participate in the National Day of Unplugging.

Ways to Unplug

Looking to take part in the National Day of Unplugging? Here are some tips to actually unplug:

Unplugging while working

Have to work on the National Day of Unplugging but still want to participate in some way? We have pointers for you, too.

The benefits of taking a break from screen time for a day will far outweigh the benefits of carrying on with your phone usage as usual. While the idea of being away from your phone for 24 hours may be a little scary, you can definitely do it if you put your mind to it. You never know how good it will feel until you try it, so join us for the National Day of Unplugging!

Our goal at Talkspace is to provide the most up-to-date, valuable, and objective information on mental health-related topics in order to help readers make informed decisions.

Articles contain trusted third-party sources that are either directly linked to in the text or listed at the bottom to take readers directly to the source.

Share0Tweet0Pin it0

Share0

Tweet0

Pin it0