How To Do a Digital Detox and Why it Benefit's your Sleep Quality and Mental Health
To put it simply, a digital detox is a period of time where you intentionally reduce or eliminate time spent on your digital devices.
Sleep and mental health go hand in hand. Research has found that an exhausted time spent on digital devices can have a negative impact on our quality of sleep and also impact our mental wellbeing. Sleep is an essential process of life, and without it, we wouldn’t function properly. Sleep is not only essential for rest and recovery, but also eating, breathing, processing and preparing for the days ahead. Sleep is crucial to restore our brains at the end of each day and ultimately vital for our mental and physical wellbeing.
Here at Fable and Eve, we know how important it is make sure we are getting the right amount of good quality sleep, to allow the body and mind to relax and recharge.
So what part do our devices play in this natural algorithm? Living in a digital world, we are constantly surrounded by media, entertainment and news – and sometimes it can be overwhelming. Allowing time to detox from our devices will help calm the mind before heading to bed, thus, giving you a greater chance of a better night’s sleep and improved mental stability.
Here are five alternatives to endless scrolling before bed, to help detox the mind…
- Set device limits
Time fly’s when you’re stuck in a TikTok algorithm. Luckily our phones now have a clever time limit setting. When the scrolling time is up, you’ll be sent an alert which lets you know you have reached your daily social media usage – reminding you to put down your device and be in your own thoughts.
- Stretch and unwind
Yoga and meditation are credited to improve sleep by stretching away any built-up tension – plus, it gets you away from you television. Taking ten minutes to do some light evening exercise, like yoga or pilates, can leave you with a stronger sense of revitalisation, more energy and less confusion, stress and depression.
- Relax your muscles, including your brain
Putting your phone to the side and taking a warm bath or shower before cosying up into a warm bed is said to help our muscles (including the brain) relax and feel sleepy, tricking our minds and bodies into falling asleep. The same goes for a hot, non-caffeinated drink like chamomile or honey and lemon, which are great to drink an hour or so before bed.
- Delve into another world
Reading is one of the best alternatives to staring at our digital devices. Dim the lights and engross yourself into a story of another. By doing this, you’ll help detox the mind and reduce anxious thoughts, giving you a greater sense of happiness and peace ahead of your night’s sleep, ready to wake up and face tomorrow.
- Focus on your breathing, not what your best friends are doing
We often struggle to fall asleep when our minds are in overdrive. Regulating breathing patterns through the 4-7-8 breathing technique is also said to promote calmness and relaxation which can help you drift into a peaceful night’s sleep.