Digital Detox and the Power of a 10-Minute Phone Free Walk

Photo by Markus Winkler

It's ironic that I am posting online about disconnecting. It is also becoming more difficult every day to not be attached to a device.

The struggle is real as the saying goes. While I am not a doctor, psychologist, or scientist, I know the brain sends signals that give a person a feeling of connection and sends other signals of enjoyment.

Why would a person want to give that up?

There are lots of reasons why we justify the need to be with our phones. For most of us, it started out as just to be social, but now it's an addiction. It also may be because of work, staying attached to communicate with a sick family member, being able to respond to your kids or parents, or just waiting for a friend to reach out.

The result of being attached to our phone so much is we feel trapped, often times not even realizing we are feeling being locked in a room with the walls starting to close in on us. We have all been in a situation where once you are removed from the event, you feel like there is a weight off of your shoulder. It could be a bad situation at work, a breakup from a bad relationship, or the stress of any situation. When the event ends, there is a sense of relief.

Recently, I just read that when you scroll on social media, your brain gets these small dopamine hits. What is really happening is your brain is getting flooded with artificial dopamine hits all day long. The long-term result is your real life starts to look boring. Things that used to be fun and exciting to you are now not very exciting. Pick up a book, nah. Go out and see people, why? Things seem more fun on your phone.

But how can disconnect? First, you have to make the mental shift that the world is not going to come to an end if you are not connected to your phone. I know this is really, really, really hard but I am sure you already disconnect and don't even know it, maybe when jumped in the pool or ocean this summer, or even the shower each day. We are all so protective of our phones, not just because of the need to be connected, but because they are so expensive and we don't want to get them ruined with water and thus, we break the connection with the phone to go into the water.

For me, when the pandemic started, I needed the mental break and decided that I was going to leave my phone in the house after lunch and take a 10-minute walk outside. I found this process liberating and came to realize that the world didn't come to an end (even with the global pandemic) and when I returned from my 10-minute walk, all was back to normal. I also found this short walk without my phone gave me a recharge for the second half of the day to keep me productive. I still do it today during every workday.

Try it for yourself, take 10 minutes and walk outside. When you return, I am sure everything will still be the same. And while you are there, maybe enjoy the fresh air!

Cover photo credit to Kelly Sikkema