Why and How to Start a Screen Time Diet

For quite a while, I’ve noticed how “addicted” I am to my various electronic devices, especially my cell phone. I’m constantly picking it up to check Facebook, check an app for some need-to-know information, or play a game. Even while I’m cross stitching, folding laundry, or watching a movie on TV (yep, another device), I catch myself reaching for my phone.

Then, there’s the TV, which I usually turn on shortly after I wake up in the morning and don’t turn off until late into the evening when I’m finally ready for bed. Ever since I discovered YouTube videos, I’ve been hooked on checking for new releases from various channels I’ve subscribed to for news, politics, quilting, “flosstube” (cross stitching), and even off-grid life in Portugal. In a typical day, I’m sure I scroll through my YouTube feed at least 20 times. Big time FOMO (fear of missing out)!

Although I have a tablet, I use it mainly for an app that allows me to track the stitches I’ve completed on large cross-stitch patterns. But my laptop is a frequently used device for online shopping, checking through quilting and cross stitch patterns I’ve stored electronically, and working on blog-related tasks.

Not surprisingly, I’m rather normal. According to the Digital 2023: Global Overview Report (from DataReportal), adults aged 16-64 spend an average of 6 hours 40 minutes per day on screens. I certainly hit that number daily.

So, I’ve been wanting to take a good look at my level of screen time. No doubt I could be putting some of that time to better use doing other activities I want and need to do. Also, I’ve wondered if the amount of screen time might have adverse effects on my health.

Health Concerns Related to Screen Time

Several studies suggest that large amounts of screen time per day can affect our brains and bodies – most notably digital eye strain, diminished sleep quality, worsened mental health, and increased obesity due to lack of physical activity.

Screen time is the amount of time spent using a device with a screen such as a smartphone, computer, television, video game console, or a tablet.

In a Time magazine article, the amount of screen time is less important than the content being consumed, according to Yalda T. Uhls, an assistant adjunct professor of psychology at UCLA and former movie executive who studies the health effects of screen time. She explains that watching documentary content on your phone, for example, won’t negatively affect you the same way as spending that time scrolling through social media.

From the same article, another expert who has studied screen time usage across age groups, Dr. Dimitri Christakis, a pediatrician, epidemiologist, and director of the Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development at Seattle Children’s Research Institute, says, “We can’t simply count all screen time as the same. Look at things you think of as being entirely recreational or entirely a waste of your time, and ask yourself, is there a way that time could have been better spent?”

If you’re concerned about how your amount of screen time is affecting you, Uhls suggests answering these five questions:

• Are you sleeping well?

• Are you eating well?

• Are you leaving the house and being social?

• Is your work going well?

• Are you physically active?

If you can answer yes to all of them, there’s nothing to be concerned about, says Uhls.

Health Boosts from Decreased Screen Time

Whether you detect health concerns from being too engaged with screens, there is plenty of opportunity to improve your health by reducing screen time. According to an article posted by Dr. Mysoon Ayuob, a Family Medicine physician with Mayo Clinic Health System, outlines the following benefits:

• Improve our physical health. Less time on our devices gives us a chance for more physical activity, which can prevent obesity and conditions related to excessive weight, frees up time for exercise and play, increases our amount of sleep, and limits mindless snacking tied to weight gain.

• Allow more time to have fun playing and exploring. Children and adults alike enjoy fun and exciting activities – whether something new or a familiar favorite.

• Engage more through social connections. Interacting with others can make us feel cared for, needed, and worthwhile.

• Boost our mood. Getting away from screens lets us engage with people and activities that make us feel good, more accomplished and less stressed.

• Build our community. Feeling part of a community improves our overall health. Taking time to have meals together, engage in conversations, volunteering together, and joining teams and groups fights the feelings of isolation we can feel if we depend on devices too much.

Want help reducing your screen time? Check out the Mayo Clinic’s Slim Your Screen Time at-home, self-guided program.

Tips for a Screen Time Diet

If you’re like me, I want to trim down my screen time consumption. For one thing, I want to devote more time to being more physically active, completing projects for my quilting and cross stitch hobbies, and spending more time outside the home. If I’m too much of a home body, I tend to turn to TV or my phone too much.

Here are some suggestions for starting the diet:

• Be realistic and aware. It probably isn’t possible to totally unplug from devices, so ask yourself which screen activities are truly rewarding and which are mindless or unfulfilling.

• Think about what will fill the gap left by less screen time, preferably something that brings you joy or more time to work on other goals like healthy exercise, stress relief and social contact with friends.

• Get tech support to monitor your screen time. Check your phone or tablet for apps that help track your time online or set timers to keep within desired boundaries.

• Eliminate screen time for the first hour of the day. Instead, try using that time for exercise, calling a friend or family member, preparing a healthy breakfast, meditating and counting your blessings, listening to music, reading a book, or spending time outside to get the morning light.

• Limit social media to 30-60 minutes per day for better mental health. Focus on following people you know rather than strangers, celebrities, and influencers.

• Spend 3-4 hours daily without any screens. It’s a great time to be more physically active, especially outdoors.

• Stop using screens at least an hour before bedtime for better sleep. In fact, leave your phone in another room than the bedroom to avoid the temptation of checking it.

• Take a break from the screen every 20 minutes for eye health. Digital eye strain caused by focusing too long on objects at close range may result in eye fatigue, eye pain, and blurred vision.

• Set even lower limits for yourself if you’re a parent. If you have children at home, be the example they can learn from.

• Pay attention to what happens after you streamline screen time. How are you feeling better, the same or not?

My Screen Time Diet Plan

For my screen time diet, I’m going to set three goals:

1. Focus on the first and last part of the day. In the mornings, I’ll wait at least an hour before engaging with any screens. Instead, I’ll focus on reading – something I’ve wanted to get back to, so I can catch up on my backlog of books to read, not to mention stay on track with book club selections. I often have trouble falling asleep, so I will monitor if it gets easier if I spend my before-bed hour with a book rather than Facebook or YouTube.

2. Stop scrolling constantly through streaming services on TV and YouTube channels. If there isn’t anything to watch, then I’ll turn off the TV and find something else to do. If I need some “noise” in the background, I’ll turn on music.

3. Take frequent breaks from screens to protect my eyes. I’ll turn off the TV or put down my phone while I get up and do a household task or take a quick walk around the house or yard, based on weather.

How do you try to limit your screen time? How would you set up guidelines and objectives for a screen time diet?

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