There’s no denying that the smartphone has become a basic necessity in today’s society. Everywhere you go, you’ll see people of all ages using their phones, whether for work, school, or leisure. Moreover, with the social media boom, people spend even more time on online platforms for many hours a day, leaving smartphones up and running around the clock.
Smartphones have become the first thing people look at when they wake up and the last thing in their hands before bed. It’s time to rethink your relationship with your smartphone — Here are the top reasons why you should turn off your mobile phone and take a break from it once in a while:
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Why should you turn off your smartphone once in a while?
1. Reduce stress
Instead of having your free time to yourself, being on your phone means making yourself available and aware of emails, notifications, messages, calls, updates, and virtually everything online. Turning off your phone gives you peace of mind and time to focus on yourself, away from stressors.
Additionally, turning your smartphone off during your days off can be a breath of fresh air, helping you fight against phone dependency, which can have damaging effects on you, such as anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem.
2. Get better sleep
Turning off your phone before bed is a simple but smart solution to sleeping better and even having better quality sleep. Using your phone at night, specifically before bed, might seem harmless, but in reality, it can keep you up all night.
Besides keeping your mind engaged, the blue light from your phone mimics daylight, which throws off your biological clock. It also suppresses your sleep-wake cycle hormone, melatonin, and a lack of it can lead to tiredness or insomnia.
3. Stay more focused
Have trouble staying focused on a task? Then, it’s time to switch off your phone to keep yourself from being distracted. Although you may think that you can quickly take a peek at your apps without losing focus on your primary task, studies show that smartphones are one of the causes of decreasing attention span.
Turning your phone off can help you not only with focus, but also with work quality, efficiency, and productivity. Your phone may be an avenue of limitless information in the palm of your hand, but there are also advantages when it’s turned off once in a while.
4. Enjoy the moment
Social media apps are popular on smartphones and keep you in the loop. With just a tap of a finger, you can access posts ranging from the latest news to your friend’s updates of what they had for dinner last night.
However, it can keep you away from what’s right in front of you at the moment. To avoid being glued to your phones while hanging out with friends and family, it’s best to switch off your smartphone and live in the moment. Focus on the in-person social interaction no distractions.
5. Save your battery life
Turning off your phone when you aren’t using it has its technical advantages — it can help save its charge and overall battery life. Your mobile is constantly running even when not in use. The constant connectivity and background functions steadily drain your battery throughout the day.
Opting to switch off your smartphone when not in use can help your battery charge last longer as well as keep your battery in excellent condition. In addition, fewer charging cycles mean less strain on your mobile’s overall battery life.
6. Prolong your phone’s lifespan
Your smartphone is an investment, and for it to last a long time, turning it off once in a while is an excellent way to prevent issues arising from overuse. Using your phone around the clock can cause it to overheat and develop several issues, such as screenburn, crashing apps, and connection problems, thus decreasing your smartphone’s quality and lifespan.
How can I make my phone healthier?
You can make your phone healthier by developing the proper habits.
- Avoid wearing your phone or keeping it too close to your body for too long
- Avoid contact with the side of your face for too long
- Look for a radiation protective case
- Avoid streaming content — especially for children
- Instead, switch to “night shift” functionality in the evening
- Cut yourself off
- Switch to airplane mode when you go to bed
Do phones affect your health?
Currently, the debate is the same as when critical and health-conscious people asked: “Does smoking harm the body?”
According to the FDA, there is “no association between exposure to radio frequency energy from cell phone use and health problems.”
According to better health: “There are concerns that the low levels of RF radiation emitted by mobile phones could cause health problems such as headaches or brain tumors.”
