Put your phone down for better brain power
Over 80% of UK adults own a smart phone and as helpful as they can be, they’re also incredibly distracting – most of us are on them for over three hours a day! Evidence suggests that the time we spend buried in these pocket-sized computers can affect our sleep, our mood and our productivity.
Going phone free, even for short periods each day, has surprisingly big benefits: it can increase your attention and your cognition, reduce aches and pains, improve posture, enhance your social life and, perhaps, even boost your happiness.
In Just One Thing, Michael Mosley explores why “no phone zones” in our day could be an easy way to boost our body and our brain.
Putting your phone down can improve your mood
We know that cutting phone use can help our mental health. In a study where people were asked to limit their social media use to 30 minutes a day, researchers saw significant reductions in loneliness, depression and anxiety.
A large study in Sweden found that sending fewer texts was linked to lower levels of neck and upper back pain.
And if you’re trying to tick tasks off the to-do list, keep your phone out of earshot. Just hearing your phone ring while you’re busy can boost anxiety.
Sending fewer texts could improve your posture
Reducing your phone time could also reduce back pain. A large study in Sweden, involving 7,000 young adults, found that sending fewer texts was linked to lower levels of neck and upper back pain.
And spending four hours a day or more on a smart phone can lead to poor posture and, more surprisingly, reduced respiratory function, according to Korean researchers.
You don’t need to do something drastic
The good news is, you don’t have to give up your phone entirely to reap the benefits.
In a German study, 619 adults were asked to either not use their phone for a week, or reduce their daily use by an hour. Both the total abstainers and the reducers felt less anxious and more satisfied with life. Some even gave up smoking! But three months later it was the reducers and not the total abstainers that continued to see the most benefit.
Just the sight of our phone can have a powerful impact on our cognition
It turns out, our phone can impact our brain just by being next to us.
A group of undergrads was asked to put their phones in one of three locations: on the desk in front of them, in their pocket or bag, or in a separate room. They were then asked to do a series of cognitive tests. “What we found was that those who had their phones on the desk in front of them did significantly worse than those who had left their phones in a different room – even when they weren’t using their phones,” says Dr Adrian Ward from the University of Texas at Austin, who ran the experiment.
We have limited brain capacity that we use for all sorts of things, from reading to thinking to talking to being creative, says the psychologist. Any time your phone is nearby – because it represents so many rewarding things, from cat videos to work emails – it attracts our attention. So even when we’re resisting the urge to pick up our phones, “the process of controlling our attention uses up some of those limited cognitive resources.”
Turning it off won’t help. “If you’re still seeing it, it’s still reminding you of all those things you could be doing on your phone,” says Dr Ward.
"There's so many attractive, appealing things in one package".
Dr Adrian Ward explains why phones are so dangerous for your concentration.
Phones affect how we remember things
“Even when we’re aware that we’re using our phones, we under-weigh how much of an effect that has on other things we might be trying to do at the same time,” says Dr Ward. Research shows that, “when we take our phones with us, in the midst of other experiences, we tend to remember those experiences less well.”
We think we can do two things at once... but research shows that this is a myth.Dr Adrian Ward
Multitasking is a myth
“We think we can do two things at once and do both things equally well, as if we were doing them alone,” says Adrian Ward. But, “Research shows that this is a myth.” You can’t think about two things at once – only two things back-to-back, switching quickly between the two. If you’re having a conversation while you’re reading your phone, you’re actually switching between the two tasks, “and there’s always a switching cost”.
Getting started
Reducing your phone use by an hour a day and creating phone-free pockets of time, particularly before bed, is a good way to start.
“The first step is figuring out exactly when and how you’re using your phone and how you might be able to cut out the phone at times when it’s really not needed,” Dr Ward suggests. If you’re working, leave it out of sight; If you’re going on a walk, leave it at home. “We should think about how we can reap the most benefits while avoiding the most harms,” he says.
So, put your phone down (in a different room) and it may just improve your sleep, your mood and your social life – as well as giving your brain a well-deserved boost.
