Welcome to My World – Add Years To Your Life

Hello World!  Well,  maybe I should say hello from “the dinosaur.”  I still don’t have a smart phone, but I do this with my iPad, but it’s too big to carry everywhere I go, nor do I want to, so I’m not on it nearly as much as those with smart phones.  I know you have no idea what I’m talking about, but if you read on, it will make sense shortly.

I guess I come from the days of the dinosaurs as I still have a flip phone that I use only for emergencies; and it took a long time for me to get this phone. This comes as a result of most of my life in sales; on the phone and the computer. When I’m not working, I don’t want to talk on the phone; nor do I want to be found 24/7. Whatever happened to privacy?

Now, again, I realize how much this dates me as people no longer “talk” on the phone, which I find pretty disturbing.  There is absolutely nothing personal about texting so I don’t do it.  I also find texting annoying since my mind goes so much faster than my fingers on the much too small keys.

When the only way you can stay in touch with family is through social media and online photos, something just isn’t right. Call me a dinosaur, but I just don’t care. I also don’t care for the direction the world is going in…  What happened to the good old days when we talked to people – face to face? Wow! Do I sound like my mother??? 🙂 Ugghhh!

People are so rude today and no one looks where they’re going. I find it is fun to cough in front of a person texting when I’m walking at the mall and they don’t have a clue where they are going…

Well, enjoy the read. My rant is finished…

Stop Doing This One Thing and You’ll Add Years to Your Life

From furthering your education and reducing cholesterol to quitting smoking and being open to new experiences, there are plenty of science proven ways to add years to your life.

Here’s another one: stop checking your smartphone all the time. 

In relation to, say, eating a bad diet or a pack-a-day habit, it may seem like a fairly innocuous pastime, but science disagrees.

SMARTPHONE ADDICTION IS MORE DANGEROUS THAN WE THOUGHT

It turns out our smartphone addiction is mor dangerous than we thought.

Along with killing our mood, our manners and our posture,  studies have shown it also creates an imbalance in our brain chemistry.

But there’s another problem. Our smartphone obsession is a massive drain on our most precious resource: our time.

How much time do you spend on your smartphone? If you kept track of how often you checked it throughout the day, you may be shocked to discover it’s a lot more than you think.

One study found that the average person picks up their device 85 times a day, and spends a total of 5 hours surfing the web and using apps. That’s well over a hundred hours per month or a third of the time we’re awake, lost to our smartphones.

WHY OUR SCREENS MAKE US LESS HAPPY

In his TED talk, psychologist Adam Alter —author of Irresistible: the Rise of addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked, explains why all those hours you spend staring at your smartphone, tablet or computer might be making you miserable, and what you can do about it.

THE NEED FOR STOPPING CUES

Alter says the reason we stay glued to our screens for so long is because there are no stopping cues telling us otherwise. Before the advent of the Internet and the glut of technology that followed, there were stopping cues everywhere.

A television show would end and we’d have to wait a week for the next

episode. Newspapers only have so many pages and books have chapters that make us stop and think about whether we want to read more.

With social media, news feeds, gaming and dating apps. we can just scroll and scroll and scroll. There’s no end to what we can consume. Ever felt ‘sucked in’ by Facebook? I know I have, which is why I decided to quit social media. (not sure I could do this.)

Without the distraction my smartphone has suddenly lost its magnetic appeal. I’m more productive and focused and funny enough, I don’t miss Instagram and its ilk one bit. It turns out living in the world, rather than Instagramming it, is a lot more satisfying.

HOW TO QUIT THE SMARTPHONE HABIT

If my approach is a little too extreme for your liking, there are plenty of other science backed ways to break your phone addiction, such as not keeping your phone in close proximity or employing a stopping rule to avoid the ludic loop (that state of tranquility you get lulled into when you’re engaged in an addictive experience).

Alter suggests using daily activities to trigger a reminder that it’s time to

put the phone away. For him, meals are a non-negotiable smartphone-free zone. When he’s eating, he’s eating.

Another idea is to have a digital sunset, where you commit to not using your device after a certain time in the evening. Likewise, you could have a digital sunrise time, as well. Along with freeing up a lot of extra hours, bookending your days with device-free time ensures a better night’s sleep and helps you be more productive during the day.

If you’re concerned about how to spend your newfound free time, not to

worry. There are plenty of healthy alternatives to scrolling through your phone. Immerse yourself in real life, connect with people, take the time to actually enjoy your meal.

Like any addiction, ditching your smartphone habit won’t be easy right off the bat. Be patient with yourself. Take it slowly and stick with it. The more areas you deem smartphone-free zones, the happier and more liberated you’ll feel.

Best of all, you can revel in the fact that you’re adding years to your life.

Ditching the phone is no problem for me, but the computer and my tablet are another story entirely. We are all so self absorbed, in our own little bubbles these days, me included. So, now is the time to recognize this and do something healthy about it…

Have a great healthy day!