Screen Time Time Out

Most of us have heard of the importance of taking a “time out” from technology, whether it be a phone free dinner with family or a whole day to unplug after being inundated with information throughout the week. Technology, while incredibly useful and effective under many circumstances, poses new challenges in managing our emotions. I frequently find myself talking with my clients about how happy I am that Instagram and Snapchat weren’t even a figment of my imagination in my adolescence. We are constantly exposed to what others are doing, saying and opinions they might have about us and others, which makes us particularly vulnerable to emotion mind and invalidating thoughts if we aren’t mindful of the amount of time we spend infront of a screen throughout the day.New research shows that one of the most important places to unplug is at night. Not only does the light from a screen impact your ability to get to sleep, but it also decreases the quality of our sleep, making us more lethargic throughout the next day. That walking dead feeling you experience the next day is attributed to an increased alertness that occurs in our brain once exposed to a lighted screen. This increased activation decreases melatonin levels, ultimately impacting our sleep quality. Decreased sleep quality has been linked to multiple health problems, including obesity and diabetes, just to name a few!So, unplug like your life depends on it, because it does!