Lubbock, Texas– According to an article fro 2017 in the Huffpost, we will each spend over eleven years of our lives watching a screen. Be that a TV watching your favorite shows or on your phone or computer scrolling through social media.
If that number scares you as much as it should, you might need a digital detox. In this weeks Intentional Living we talk about how the screen times on tech actually messes with your brain and your body.
Whether it’s your smart watch that goes off when you have a new message or alert or the social media feeds you can’t stop checking out all the time, there are a lot of digital distractions. There are benefits…Keeping in touch with family and friends, and knowing what is going on. But there are also some drawbacks. We each spend on average half a day looking at our screens, and our bodies end up paying the price.
Problem one. Text Neck. Getting the gobbler neck earlier, neck wrinkles and can even cause muscle pain and pinched nerves. How to fix this? Quit looking down and hold your phone up higher so you don’t have to bend your neck to look at it.
Problem two. The texting thumb. You know, the bent thumb on each side of your phone, you spend hours texting or emailing people. It can cause inflammation, irritation, and pain. How to fix this? Put the phone down and change the way to text or email by using a different finger. If you’re like me it may cause a side effect of your tongue sticking out but hey we are at least using a different finger.
Problem three. This is something most all of us can relate to. Digital eye strain. Staring a blue screens all the time can cause dryness, blurred vision, and headaches. To fix this, experts say to use the 20-20-20- rule. For every twenty minutes you look at a screen, look up and at an object twenty feet in the distance for twenty seconds. And don’t forget to blink.
The best tip is to just put down the phone and enjoy what is happening around you.
