How to disconnect yourself from your devices

Electronic and mobile devices have become such a big part of our daily lives that many of us find it hard to disconnect and ‘live’ in the real world.  If we don’t make an effort to separate from our devices, our focus in simple tasks worsens, we feel less social, and our sleep quality deteriorates. 

It can also bring about binge eating as we become distracted by devices, which leads to weight gain.  Overuse of devices can cause behaviour problems in children. 

Benefits of disconnecting from our devices

1. Less stress as we are on devices at work all day. 
2. Improvement in mental and physical health 
3. More quality time to do other things such as connecting with family and friends in person or take up a hobby. 
4. Better quality sleep 
5. Our concentration improves and less chances of feeling burned out 

How can you start using your device less?

1. Cut down or disable notifications. 
2. Put your phone away so that it is out of reach. 
3. Hide social media apps from your Home Screen so it makes you less likely to tap on them. 
4. Make your phone harder to unlock by using passcodes instead of Face ID. Such delays can make you less likely to use your phone. 
5. Set your screen colour to grayscale
   • Apple
     • Got to Settings > Accessibility 
     • Vision > tap Display & Text Size 
     • Go to Color Filters. Tap the toggle to turn it on, and select Grayscale 
   • Android
     • Go to Settings > Accessibility 
     • Display >  Text and Display 
     • Tap Color correction and select Grayscale 
6. Set time limits for using certain apps. For example, set a 15 minute limit to scroll Tik Tok everyday. 
   • Apple
     • Go to Settings > Screen Time > Turn it on 
     • Tap ‘Always Allowed’ 
     • Tap the green button next to the apps you still want to access to add them to ‘Allowed Apps’ list. 
       
       Schedule Downtime
     • Go to Screen Time > tap the Schedule toggle to enable it 
     • Tap Customize Days to adjust the schedule for using your apps.
   • Android
     • Go to Settings > Digital Wellbeing & parental controls 
     • Tap Focus mode 
     • Select the checkboxes next to each app you want to limit access to. 
     • Tap ‘Set a schedule’ at the top of the screen o set when you want Focus mode to run.