Detox is a word we hear quite often nowadays. Most of the times I used to think ‘detox’ was referred only to food, i.e., juice detox, water detox, etc.
We heard about ‘Digital detox’ a few years ago but never gave it too much attention. Until last year when we realized how much time we spend every single day mindlessly scrolling our social media news feed.
Many studies have found that, even though we cannot imagine our life without phone or tablet anymore, the use of this kind of technology can add a serious amount of stress to our lives. The need to constantly check our mails, social media, texts, etc. can be a constant source of stress.
Furthermore, the impact of ‘digital pollution’ in our lives is even more tangible when we consider our ability to remain focused throughout the day. Most people are convinced that they can be efficient and multi-task, but the reality is that they cannot concentrate on a single task and often end up jumping up and down their ‘to-do’ lists.
Without being focused the quality of daily activities, including social relationships (the real, in person ones!), deteriorates significantly.
In addition, the intensive use of digital devices can disrupt several other vital activities we perform on a daily basis. Think about eating while checking social media or texting: our brain is busy doing two different things and this makes it harder to truly enjoy food and to understand when we have had enough.
Also, how many of us use their phones while in bed before sleep! Studies show that checking social media at nighttime can alter the quality and quantity of our sleep.
The list of negative effects was enough to convince me and Sabine to give ‘Digital Detox’ a go at the end of last year.
For one week we did not use any social media or emails on laptop or phone. In the first day we felt strange as if something was missing in our day. However, it took us only 24 hours to realize how much time we had been dedicating to mindless scrolling. The amount of time we were able to reclaim from that was incredible. We decided to choose new activities to ‘fill the gap’ (e.g., walking outside or reading a book) and quickly realized how much we were missing out because of the time we typically spent on social media.
The experience was unbelievable and we would truly recommend it to anyone. It really helped us to get more clarity around how we want to employ our time and we learned to appreciate even more the spare time we have available.
Make a list of things you like doing: online classes, reading a book, painting, singing, dancing, doing sports…leave your mobile phone aside for a few hours and dedicate your full attention to what you really enjoy doing.
Thanks to our collaboration with Jane Piper, author of ‘Focus in the Age of Distraction’ we are extremely excited to offer a Digital Detox experience during our Yoga retreats.
We will invite and guide our guests through a ‘social media cleanse’ and ‘smartphone rehab’. Although we can obviously not expect everyone to bury their mobile phone in the sand for a whole week, we are extremely excited to see the results in terms of relaxation and higher focus.