Technology is an important and useful part of our lives. But how does it affect our health? How to find happiness and good health by stepping away from your iPhone.

Remember when we used to leave home without a phone? Needing to make a call while out and about meant searching for the nearest pay phone or begging a store owner for one quick call.

Those days are well behind us. Now, not only do we have the convenience of communication on the go, but we can barely be without it. Highly useful, yes. But how does this constant tech access affect our health and happiness?

Last week we talked about how to find happiness by taming monkey mind, that incessant chatter in our heads, and the feeling of calm and focus it brings. One tip we covered was unplugging and the benefits found via the Bored and Brilliant campaign. Participants were given daily challenges over the course of one week to prompt phone detachment and enhance creativity.

So, through the campaign, Manoush Zomorodi (who also hosts Well and Good NYC’s New Tech City podcast) discovered that less tech in our daily lives leads to better concentration and peace of mind. The data shows that “boredom is crucial to the creative process.” I’m not so sure single-tasking equals boredom, but I get where they are going with this.

The data from the campaign showed that the average person spends approximately 64 minutes on their phone daily. Easily, right? That means checking the device 2 to 3 times every hour. We’ve all had those days or weekends where we spend inordinate amounts of time checking an app or messages, only to be left with tech hangover. You know, that wide eyed, bewildered, slightly manic feeling? Sure you do.

Interestingly, many participants of the campaign have a creative project or dream they’d love to complete but feel they don’t have enough time to work on it. Of the 16 percent who feel they spend “just the right amount of time” on their phones, only one percent said their phone is usually in their hand. So those not feeling like partakers of the phone time-suck are stowing them away in their bags or somewhere else out of sight.

Added time, greater creativity, and increased productivity account for the happiness boost from unplugging. But how about what tech overload is doing to our health?

There are the less serious, but still annoying, physical signs of device overuse, like tech neck and text thumb. But more serious health issues need to be taken into consideration before it’s too late.

Vision problems from looking at a tiny screen are a real problem, especially for kids. Some children tend to lock into screen time with uber focus. Spending prolonged periods staring at a screen can lead to blurry vision, eye irritation, and headaches. Set time limits on viewing and remind your kids when time is up. They are unlikely to come up for air on their own.

Most of us have experienced some level of increased health anxiety due to the Internet. I recently saw an image on Instagram that said something like “I have a stomach ache, WebMD says I’m dying.” Been there? Me too. The side effects of over-Googling every last physical symptom you have, and the fear it instills, may seem like an emotional issue. But we know stress is linked to many real health problems. Take all information you find online with a grain of salt. Remember, it’s pretty much impossible to diagnosis someone over the Internet. If you are truly concerned about your health, get yourself to your doctor for a check.

A study done by Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina in Columbia found a link between tech and an increase in obesity. And those most affected are women. Compared to women of earlier (pre smart phone) decades, who spent much of their time doing housework, today’s women are far less active, due in large part to tech viewing. Leaders of the study are quick to point out that they are not suggesting women need to do more housework, but that they may need to set limits on computer time and get more active.

If you’ve been having a hard time falling or staying asleep, this could also be due to screen overload. It is harder to sleep when the mind is wired from scrolling through Facebook or checking email one last time. Set a tech cutoff time each day. Put your devices away and pick up a good old-fashioned book.

Computers and other devices are not bad. They keep us informed and connected. Hey, many of us even need them to make a living. Like most good things, moderation is key. Don’t let tech rob you of family time, happiness, or your health. Set yourself some limits.

Related on EcoSalon

5 Common Causes of Brain Fog and How to Clear It Up

What Binge-Watching Says About Your Mental Health

Scientists Find a Latte Health Benefits from Drinking Coffee

Image of woman looking at phone via Shutterstock

The post How to Find Happiness by Unplugging from Tech and Plugging Into You appeared first on EcoSalon.

I went to CAMP, curated by Unique LA, and they took my phone for four days. I was warned, which is not the same as being prepared.

This isn’t going to be one of those stories about how I disconnected from technology, hugged a llama (okay, actually, I totally hugged a llama) and found my true self.

This won’t end with me returning to daily life dedicated to unplugging. I haven’t set a reminder to turn off my phone and, last night, I was looking at Instagram as I started to fall asleep. That said, I did learn something really important when I was stripped of my phone.

I thought I was pretty prepared for my four-day CAMP experience. I packed layers, signed up for workshops, remembered to bring a hat and set my out of office email with a cute little photo provided by the Unique team. I arrived at the Unique LA HQ on time, picked up my giant bag of CAMP goodies and hopped on a bus.

I chatted with my seatmates on the two-hour ride, all of us alternating between talking and phone-ing. When we hit the camp, a functioning YMCA camp in Big Bear that had been outfitted for us—basically, the place was hipster-bombed—the first order of business was dumping our stuff in our rooms. Then, we gathered together as a group to meet our counselors and trade our phones for a low-tech Casio watch.

Dropping my phone into its little canvas bag with my name on it, I felt nothing. Not yet. I was excited and nervous about the next few days. I didn’t need my phone.

CAMP was, in many ways, the fantastic experience I knew it would be. I took workshops, did yoga twice a day, spent tons of time outside in nature and met truly inspiring and interesting people — I haven’t fully decompressed and I think the bigger lessons will take some time to gel.

It was also harder than I thought it might be. It turns out that I know nothing about trying to breathe at 7,200 feet, I’d forgotten that I don’t enjoy sharing quarters with strangers (lovely though they were) and didn’t really consider that I would likely have trouble bonding with 200 new people without alcohol as a social lubricant.

My first night at CAMP was like all of my other first nights in new places—I wanted to go home.

I remembered being a kid at Happy Hollow Girl Scout camp thinking, “Happy my ass. This was a terrible idea.” And then, in high school, arriving at Wellesley College for a 3-week summer program and thinking, “Shit.” And, when my parents left me in my first dorm room thinking, “Oh fuck, I am going to, like, LIVE here.”

Like CAMP, all of those situations happened without smartphones. I didn’t have a way to get comfort from anyone else on those first nights. I was alone and I had to go to sleep and get ready to wake up and dig in.

Digging in at Girl Scout camp meant writing my parents hateful letters every day until the last day when I wrote to say I was having fun and wanted to stay. In high school, it meant locating the smokers and being moody—which was also my approach in college with the addition of beer. But the first nights, in all of these situations, I was alone in a bed with no recourse.

My first night at CAMP, as most people wandered to the late night tents to drink cocktails and bond, I went to my room. Yes, I could have gone and had a soda. Theoretically. In reality, I simply couldn’t.

So, I walked back to my room, hoping not to encounter a mountain lion or snake, and got in bed. I desperately wanted to text my husband. I thought about what his response to my despair would be: “You’ll be fine. Have fun tomorrow.” Useless fucker.

Then I imagined what my best friend would say, “Oh no! Are you okay?” Then I imagined the wallowing I would indulge in, and how the 865 texts back and forth would feel good for a while, and then make me feel worse and even more alone.

Even though it wouldn’t have been what I wanted to hear, I took my husband’s phantom text advice and went to bed. I got up early and dug in.

This time, digging in didn’t mean getting angry or self-destructive. It meant that I got up early every day and went to yoga. I talked to people. I talked to more people. I went to workshops. I ate meals and made friends. I did camp stuff. I hugged a llama. I had fun.

Me and my llama

The only time I really missed my phone was when I wanted to show a new friend a photo of my life back home—which was really a desire to connect more with the present, not to escape into technology. [Insert back pat.]

What I found out is that it’s not the phone I am addicted to, it’s the security of being able to instantly connect with people that know me. People that love me. People who will save me from having to work through the tough shit myself.

What I learned is that I am perfectly capable of talking myself out of my own pity party and digging in without self-destructing. I have no plans to go phoneless. Ever. But, I do think I can commit to pausing before texting or emailing and think about whether I might be able to work through the issue on my own.

Related On EcoSalon

Suicide and Storytelling

What Not to Say to Your Friend Who Quit Drinking

Got FOMO?: How to Have a Healthy Relationship with Social Media

Images: The Unique CAMP, Libby Lowe

The post I Went to CAMP appeared first on EcoSalon.

Step away from the screen—at least for a while

When British author and artist Gemini Adams was living in Los Angeles several years ago, she was at an uncertain transitioning point in her life. Feeling unsettled, she found herself turning more and more to social media outlets such as Facebook to quell her pangs of loneliness.

“I had a scenario where four of my close friends in LA had moved away and I was feeling vulnerable and bereft,” Adams said. “There was a gap between the life I had and the life I was to going to have and for me, it was so easy to fill that with Facebook.

Recognizing the beginnings of this quasi-addiction prompted Adams to create her new book, The Facebook Diet, a collection of humorous depictions of social media addiction. With 28 percent of Facebook users admitting to checking their profile before they even get out of bed, many are probably more familiar with Adams’ drawings than they’d like to admit.

While the content is intended to be amusing, the book tackles one of the more pressing issues of modern times: technology addiction and the inability of many users to unplug. Adams, an avid yoga practitioner, talks often about being ‘present’ in any given task or moment—something which the constant stream of information available on the internet runs in direct opposition to.

“I think that as a society it’s so necessary for us to be living in the digital world: news magazines are going digital, kids are using tablets in school etc,” Adams said. “But when you’re on a digital device you’ve got so many things out there that are distractions and if you don’t have any self control or you haven’t been taught how to practice being present then I think that creates a serious problem.”

A Neilson report on social media last year found that Americans spend 23 percent of their online lives on Facebook and other social networks. Despite this huge time investment, Adams’ point isn’t that social media is an evil, all-consuming force that healthy people should eschew altogether. On the contrary, it’s a useful tool and, for a growing number of people, an integral part of professional lives. Instead, she advocates practicing restraint in various ways.

“Building an awareness of why you’re using social media is the most important thing,” Adams said. “Creating set spaces where you are completely disconnected and sticking to them is important. Having a schedule—swimming, running, or even watching a movie—makes us conscious of the amount of time we’re being forced to interact with computers.”

With increasing rates of ADHD, shortened attention spans in children, and physical side effects from sitting hunched over all day, Adams is part of a growing group that are urging people to go on a ‘digital detox.’ The non-profit Reboot has promoted National Day of Unplugging—inspired by the Jewish Sabbath—since 2010. Many prominent writers are pointing out the value of taking one day per week away from technology. Not responding to email of any kind when you’re on vacation or a weekend away—once a risky move—is now more accepted.

To help with the transition, Apps and software such as Mac Freedom, which dis-enables your internet for set intervals of time so you can focus on creating, and Self Control, which blocks particularly distracting sites, are good tools. And of course, says Adams, there is always the option of leaving your smart phone at home from time to time.

For Adams, creating a book about technology turned out to be a way to get away from the technology that she felt was lessening her quality of life. She encourages others to pick up old fashioned habits—writing long-hand, reading a print book—in order to do the same.

“I was so sick of sitting at the computer,” Adams said. “I wanted that tangible experience of creating. So doing this book allowed me to go out and do research, talk to people, go experience the world, go and draw and have a really tangible rather than digital addiction.”

The post Slimming Our Social Media Appetite appeared first on EcoSalon.