"If you want to effectively take a break, you'll have to be intentional about it," says Chaudhary. For many, scrolling through social media can be an addictive stimulus, and it will take some real willpower to break the habit. But, if you're using it as an unhealthy way to cope with underlying anxiety or feeling yourself becoming distressed if you haven't checked it in a while, those may be signs that you need a break."Įven if you recognize that you should take a break from social media to improve your health, it can be difficult to do.
"If you're occasionally using it to stay connected or otherwise enhance your life, that's a nice-to-have. "This is a helpful rule of thumb for deciding to take a break," says Chaudhary. It transitions from a nice-to-have activity to a need-to-have activity. Since blue light is an artificial color that imitates daylight, your body will think it's daytime and keep you energized, thus resisting the urge to wind down for sleep. The blue light from your cell phone suppresses melatonin, which is a hormone responsible for controlling sleep. Looking at your phone before bed may be disrupting your sleep because it keeps your mind active and awake. You may not even realize you're doing it until a huge lapse of time has passed and you're still sitting in the same position on your phone or computer. You may doomscroll because you feel the need to constantly know everything that's happening in the world- from news to trending topics. Doomscrolling occurs when you find yourself mindlessly, and continuously, scrolling through social media sites. "If you find that you feel worse about yourself after you're on social media, then it's not a resource that is adding to your emotional well-being." "If you are feeling like you aren't good enough, pretty enough, or successful enough while consuming what's in your news feed, you should consider taking a break," says McCarty.
If you find that it's no longer a source of joy and connection in your life, it may be a sign to take a break. Social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are meant to be a fun and enjoyable way to connect with family and friends. There are a few key signs that may indicate it's time for you to take a social media break, including: Signs you should take a break from social media "If we are sitting on social media for extended hours, we aren't taking the time to take care of our bodies and enjoy life outside of social media." "As far as mental health, can affect our self-esteem and lead to us comparing ourselves to edited photos and lives that appear perfect," says Katara McCarty, creator of EXHALE, a well-being app for Black and Indigenous Women of Color. In addition, social media may cause feelings of stress, anxiety, or depression if you find yourself comparing other people's lives to yours. Even though you may be talking to friends, social media limits your capacity for face-to-face interactions and makes you spend less time out in the real world and more time on your phone or computer. Remember that social media is a sedentary behavior. That means knowing when to take a break and direct your attention elsewhere. To ensure that social media has a positive impact on your health, it's important to be conscious of how you're using it. "On the other hand, social media is often associated with cyberbullying, social comparison, and other phenomena that can be detrimental to our health and wellbeing." "On one hand, it helps us stay connected to each other and combat loneliness, which could be good for our health since studies have shown that social isolation and loneliness can negatively impact health," Chaudhary says. Why it's important to take a break from social mediaįrom a health perspective, social media is a double-edged sword, says Neha Chaudhary, MD, child and adolescent psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
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