Can a Digital Detox Improve Sleep and Anxiety?: The Experiment, Benefits, Takeaways

Not lying – I do not have the best sleep in the world. This is better over the years. I restrict caffeine after morning, try to go to bed quickly, and keep the lights in your home late in the evening. I also ensure that the evening does not work or other pressure activities. But when does the screen time come? Ah, yes, I really do not restrict it Exactly.

Someone is in distress and which is also in pyraminopos, my sleep is slightly messed up. I usually don’t have much trouble falling asleep at night, but I often wake up, and sometimes in the middle of the night for a few hours. And I certainly feel a connection between activities such as Domscripting and Waking up at night on my phone.

When to increase the insult to injury, when I sleep poorly, my anxiety increases, which causes the never -ending cycle of sleep and anxiety. Not good That is why the idea of ​​digital detox at night was interesting to me. Something to fix my broken sleep cycles? Something to comfort my restless soul? Sign me up

Here, I will share, how to share what I learned about digital detoxes, how to do them, and how was my weekly digital datux.

What is Digital Datux?

I would admit that when I first heard the term “digital datics”, I was not sure what it meant and what it included.

The Medical Director of Michael S Waldes, MD, California, explained that a digital detox means “avoiding screens, including smart phones, computers, and television, and any other digital devices that can be a source of blue light.”

Dr. Waldes explained, “Social media contains blue light from work sources of work -related emails, and any mental taxing information. They say that eliminating them can have a positive impact on your sleep as well as your anxiety. Dr. Waldies has given you a few hours before sleeping.

And my favorite thing, Dr. Waldies, said? When it comes to digital datas, it’s all or not. “It is fine not to be excessively hard with the rules, because everyone has lifestyle, demands and needs,” he said. “Even an hour or two shutdown before going to bed can have a positive effect.” The main purpose here is consistency, it emphasizes.

The benefits of digital detox

So how does a digital detox affect sleep and anxiety? There are many concrete benefits to digital detox.

Reduction of blue light exposure

The first benefit is the elimination of blue light in the evening hours. “Eliminating the use of digital devices in the last half of the day improves the quality of sleep by eliminating the use of digital devices in the last half of the day, which reduces the production of Melaton …” says Dr. Waldes.

Reduces anxiety

If you are worried, scrolling on your phone at night is usually not a good idea. This is not just bad news (though it has plenty of quantity!). This is a reminder of work emails and other responsibilities. These are usually the pressure on social media. And this is the limit of your mind and ideas.

Shift of nervous system

Licensed clinical social worker and founder of Alpine Mind Therapy, LCSW, Tim Kencht, says, beyond the screens, you are “providing the opportunity to move your nervous system into a calm and more comfortable state.” It often makes sleep, sleeping, and usually felt more ground overall. It can also reduce your overall anxiety and increase your mental fitness.

Increases in silence

We usually do not think of silence as “thing”, but silence can be golden, especially at night. And this is not just literally silence: it is silence with our digital devices and stimulations. Dr. Waldes noted, “Silence, combined with alternatives to non -conflict materials, softening as well as a smooth transfer from sleep to a comfortable state.”

To slow down ideas

“Scrolling overnight can keep your mind in a state of warning, especially if you are reading pressure news or comparing yourself on social media,” says Cleanctic. In this way, closing your devices at night can slow down your thoughts or connect with ideas in a slow, less stimulant way. Cliniccht says it is especially helpful for people with anxiety.

My Digital Datux Saturday

I’m going to be honest. I advised Dr. Woods and took my digital detox into my lifestyle. I have noticed that going to sleep with TV is actually very comfortable. My husband and my husband usually do a stupid set from the 80s and the 90s to sleep. Yes, it’s a screen, but the fact is that I just look at the first few minutes, and then usually flows to sleep. So I did not end this habit during my week’s digital detox.

My original addiction is my phone and domescroling. Justin Careno, LMHC, a licensed mental health adviser at Careno Mental Health Counseling Services, has confirmed that it is common and has been emphasized that its clients generally recommend starting with their phone.

“Phone is the biggest motivator for anxiety and stress, because this is the place where we begin to see our work emails, personal emails and social media,” Karno explained. People often get stimulated with something they see on an app and then start rumors about it (*raises hands!*). This increases anxiety and intends to interfere with sleep.

She says, “I want to keep it easy and encourage them to start with a device that usually lives before bed at night – people who have a phone call – and keep it away 30 minutes before falling asleep.”

My Digital Datux experience

I have decided to end my phone’s use for more than 30 minutes, which is recommended to start. I stopped scrolling my phone for an hour and a half for a week.

A warning here: I finished checking my phone just before going to bed, because I have two children who sometimes send text at night and an elderly parent for whom I am going to take an important care. But I didn’t scroll, and I removed the phone for at least 90 minutes from the last check.

How did it go for me: it’s:

Day 1

It was the hardest day, as it can be extremely difficult to break the routine. What I saw most is that I kept reaching my phone, without meaning. It was literally a reflex, a reflex. I’ll do something else, and boom! My hand would reach my phone. But at least I was familiar with it, and I immediately turned on the phone just once before putting back to my bed table. Win!

Day 2

The next day, I still found myself reaching my phone, but it felt like itching more than a reflex. I must have thought I would like to see my phone, but I didn’t do anything about it. I ended up hanging with my husband and kids over an hour before bed with a phone! It was beautiful and I slept very well that night.

Day 3

I noticed that I did a lot of work with “phone itching” on the third day. The only problem was that I was waiting for an email from my child’s teachers. I didn’t think it would come at the end of the evening, but I was surprised to find myself that it may happen, and I want to reach my phone. I finished not to check my phone before the last check. Spilller Alert: No email. I fell asleep well despite the anxiety before bed.

Day 4

Four days, I struggled not to reach my phone again. In the embarrassing day I had already seen that there was a disturbing piece of breaking news and I wanted to check my phone for updates. But I didn’t! And I saw how much more comfort I felt during the other times during the evening hours when breaking news emphasized me.

Day 5

Five days felt like a big win. I had some sharp moments to reach my phone, but I felt away from them – as if looking at someone from the outside, looked inside. I read something, spoke well to my husband, and fell asleep easily with joy and satisfaction. Yes!

Day 6

Six days a bit shocked, though it was not really my fault. I spent the last hour and a half before bed, who was not watching my phone and was spending a good evening. Then I checked it before bed, and my mother’s home health assistant had nine misses. I had to call her and help her manage a situation with her mother (it’s okay, just encountered a problem), and I fell asleep late and wandered quite.

Day 7

As much as six days was suck, it was not due to my phone addiction, and until the seventh day, I felt the most effects of Detrox. Not only did I reach my phone, but I didn’t even think that I wanted to reach it. I fell asleep that night. Even in the morning, when I usually open my phone and scroll my phone a bit, I was too little to scroll for 30 seconds before I start my day.

Should you do digital detoxes for sleep and anxiety?

Experts agree that digital datas is a great option if you are someone who is worried and also has sleep problems, which often live in hand.

“I often recommend digital detoxes to customers who have trouble sleeping or sleeping at night,” says Dr. Waldis. “The clients who are disrupting sleep samples, high levels of stress, or their personal and family -time clients are good candidates.”

Techways

If you are thinking about trying digital detoxes, but not sure if this is right for you, Clinicch recommends to run the trial for two weeks. “This is something I often recommend: starting does not mean permanently,” he says.

The important thing is that you do not need to be perfect with your digital detox. This is not about adherence to deprivation or strict principle. “It’s really about nightmares to make a more mind -making routine, which gives your body and mind a clear indication: ‘Hey, it’s time to rest,” “The concussion concluded.

For me, I think I will stay on my night’s digital detoxes for at least one more weeks, because I think I need to look at the whole effect of it for a long time. I am hoping – as I saw this last day – its benefits spread further during my day hours, and I will stop scratch more during the day.

My prediction is that not only will I continue to improve sleep and anxiety, but I will be more productive and focused during work and in interaction with others. Hope here!