One of those costs is the over consumption of information that can have an impact on our mental well-being (e.g. think anxiety, stress, depression…)

I often recommend a media fast for my clients to help them detach from the buzz of the world – not just the news, but especially social media, where we are viewing other people’s highlight reels of their lives.

In this modern age, we seldom question the pervasive presence of the media. Television, radio, newspapers, magazines, telephones, and Websites are part of most people’s everyday experiences. They enable us to stay informed while sometimes taking us on amazing journeys. But the content and experiences that these outlets offer also consume space in our minds and can have a profound effect on our emotional state. If you are someone who feels like your life is over saturated with the “buzz” that comes from the media, you may want to consider taking a break. A media fast involves not watching television, reading any newspapers or magazines, checking or sending any emails, or even talking on the phone. 

On the simplest level, undertaking this fast will free up thinking space. When you are constantly being bombarded with signals coming from outside sources, it can be hard to disassociate yourself, particularly if what you are hearing or reading is negative or stressful. Avoiding the media for a few weeks, or even just a few days, can help you center yourself. As you enjoy some quiet time and reconnect with other interests, the fast may even introduce you to creative aspects of yourself that you didn’t know existed. We may feel like something is lacking from our lives during the first few days of a fast. But it is this emptiness that opens up the space for a more expansive and clutter-free life. 

Research has shown that both news and television programming can have an intense effect on mood, even causing sadness and anxiety. Without the “noise” of the media running through your head, you are freer to focus your attention inward. Ideas will present themselves to you more readily, and you will find yourself available to revel in the small joys of your own life. You also will be freer to live in the present moment, rather than focusing on what’s going on in the news or your favorite soap opera. A media break can also help you develop a more conscious relationship with news and fictional entertainment. When you aren’t continuously subjected to the media, you are able to look at what you are seeing or reading more objectively. Taking a break from the media may also give you a greater sense of calm, balance, well-being, and a new perspective on life.

While technology provides all sorts of convenience in our lives and allows us to stay connected…what is the cost to us?!?!

In the 17th century, a secretive group of Capuchin Monks went into graveyards with shovels. They dug up thousands of former friars. Sometimes, they took skulls. Other times, they took feet, hands, ribs or vertebrae. They also took entire bodies. Then they decorated the dusty basement of their church, Santa Maria della Concezione, with the bones of their brethren.

It’s fascinating and horrific. But on the floor there’s a message revealing why the monks did it.

What you are, they once were. 
What they are, you will be.

We can’t recover time. Unlike money, once we spend it, we can’t get it back. Unfortunately, technology might be stealing our irrecoverable sands of time. In 2016 The New York Times reported that Facebook’s average user spent 50 minutes a day on the social media site. That means the average person spent one-sixteenth of their waking time on Facebook. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, that’s more time than we spend reading. It’s more time than we spend exercising. It’s even more than we spend socializing in person.

But that was in 2016. According to Statistica.com, every year we spend more time on social media. In 2012, the average user spent 90 minutes a day on social media sites. By 2017, such time had increased to 135 minutes.

Let’s put this in perspective. There are 24 hours in a day. If somebody sleeps 8 hours a night, that leaves 16 hours of time awake. If the typical person spends 135 minutes on social media, that’s 14 percent of their day.

But here’s where the math gets creepy. Assume a life expectancy of 78 years. If a person averaged 135 minutes a day on social media sites that would total 7.31 years of their life.

I’m not against social media. As the Greek philosopher, Heraclitis, once said: “Change alone is unchanging.” We can’t turn back to a pre-Internet age. Nor would most of us want to. But social media platforms are designed to be addictive.

Vivek Wadhwa and Alex Salkever recently published the book, Your Happiness Was Hacked: Why Technology is Winning the Battle to Control Your Brain–and How to Fight Back. They refer to FOMO (The Fear of Missing Out) and how it leads to unproductive behavior. The authors say the average adult checks their emails 72 times during a workday. University of California researcher, Gloria Mark, says we check email at work 77 times a day.

Consequently, many people lose focus at work. Many of them bring their work home to meet work-related deadlines. That’s time they’re spending away from friends and family. Email addictions cost time that we can’t replace.
Other social media sites are even more addictive. Chamath Palihapitiya is a former Facebook executive. He was in charge of Facebook’s user growth. Today, he regrets the role he played. He says, “The short-term, dopamine-driven feedback loops that we have created are destroying how society works.”

Trevor Haynes is a research technician in the Department of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School. In March 2018, he published Dopamine, Smartphones and You: A Battle for your time.He says people get addicted to social media approval. For example, every time people click “like” or comment on our pictures or posts, it triggers dopamine in our brains. Addiction soon follows.

Haynes says, “Every time a response to a stimulus results in a reward, these associations become stronger through a process called long-term potentiation. This process strengthens frequently used connections between brain cells called neurons by increasing the intensity at which they respond to particular stimuli.”

Think back to the first time you posted something on social media. When somebody else responded, you might have been amused. But over time, responses to your posts could have triggered addictive cravings.

Such cravings can shorten lives. In 2016, researchers Redhwan A. Al-Naggar and Shirin Anil published a study in the Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention. They concluded that, “Artificial light at night is significantly correlated for all forms of cancer as well as lung, breast, colorectal, and prostate cancers individually. Immediate measures should be taken to limit artificial light at night in the main cities around the world and also inside houses.”

Unfortunately, social media and computer screens have a direct effect on sleep.
Harvard University researchers Anne-Marie Chang, Daniel Aeschbach, Jeanne F. Duffy, and Charles A. Czeisler published relative research in 2014. They learned that using an iPad to read at night before going to sleep reduced the production of melatonin by 55 percent. Melatonin helps us sleep. Its production also fights cancer.

A few years ago, I taught a high school personal finance class in Singapore. I asked my students, “How many of you go to bed with your phones?” Almost all of them said they did. I then asked how many of them answer calls or texts in the middle of the night. Once again, most of the hands shot up.

BBC News reported a study in 2016. They asked 2,750 teenagers in the United Kingdom similar questions. The researchers learned that 45 percent of the teens checked their smartphones while they should have been sleeping. Forty-two percent of the teens slept with their phones.

Despite writing this, I want to make something clear: I’m a social media addict. I try to control my addiction by limiting WiFi access. I’ve never carried a phone with access to WiFi. If I did, I might be a social mess. Like so many others, I’m critical when couples in restaurants have their faces in their phones. I’m critical of people in public settings that don’t look around. I’m critical of people who would rather text than speak to a real person.

But I’m still an addict. I waste large chunks of my life online, doing unproductive things. Unfortunately, you might also be an addict. Wadhwa and Salkever don’t have all the answers. But their book provides some helpful suggestions to curb excessive social media use. After all, it’s important to remember what those Capuchin Monks wrote:

What you are, they once were. 
What they are, you will be.

Andrew Hallam is a Digital Nomad. He’s the author of the bestseller, Millionaire Teacher and Millionaire Expat: How To Build Wealth Living Overseas

I am thrilled to work with a fabulous chiropractor (Dr Paul Collett) that helps me to “keep my head on straight” (and my family)!  He focuses on the specific alignment of the head on the top of the spine (technically, the axis and atlas), and I have found this to be wonderful at keeping my whole body in alignment.

In today’s society, many people are seeking the proverbial “fountain of youth.” Not only are they hoping for longevity, but they’re on a mission to live a wrinkle-free life. However, there’s an irony for those obtaining skin-saving information from their mobile devices, and it’s something that experts warn against if people want to maintain their taut, youthful-looking appearance.

Quite simply, put down those mobile devices if it’s better skin you’re after.

Dermatologists are saying that excessive use of mobile devices is creating the very changes in appearance that many are attempting to avoid in the first place, a term dubbed “tech neck.” Too much time on these devices, in which the head and neck are continuously held in a downward position, makes skin more prone to dropping.(1)

They also say that neck wrinkles are more likely to develop among heavy mobile device users. Both the drooping and neck wrinkling is most common in people aged 18 to 39 who own an average of three devices.(1)

Chances are, you’re a “tech neck” candidate

“The problem of wrinkles and sagging of the jowls and neck used to begin in late middle age but, in the last 10 years, because of ‘tech neck’, it has become a problem for a generation of younger women,” said Dr. Christopher Rowland Payne, a consultant dermatologist at The London Clinic. He explains that women in particular are especially prone to changes in their skin since it’s already compromised due to wearing lower neck lines that expose more skin area to the sun. He said, “This is bad news for neck skin as it starts off finer and sun thins it further. Finer skin wrinkles more readily and the fat of the neck may sag.”(1)

Dean Nathanson is another expert who warns of tech neck. As Managing Director of CACI international, which is involved in non-surgical facelifts, he has said, “We’ve identified a correlation between the rise of technology in recent years and the growth of the ‘Techneck’, so while there is little chance of the nation giving up technology, at least we can help people reduce wrinkles and keep their chin up!” He also said that “hectic everyday lives mean that keeping one’s head down, be it buried in work emails or in an e-reader, is completely the norm” and that an awareness of this can help reduce wrinkles and sagging.(2)

From cancers to excess force on the spine, mobile devices are problematic

It’s no secret that the use of this technology can wreak havoc on health, internally as well as externally.

In fact, cell phones and similar technologies have been linked to increases in certain cancers, such as in salivary glands and the brain.(3)

More recently, it’s been discovered that too much time on mobile devices can impact posture and be harmful to the spine.

In a study published in Surgery Technology International titled, “Assessment of Stresses in the Cervical Spine Caused by Posture and Position of the Head,” it was found that “incrementally moving the head forward” wreaks havoc on the spine. The study notes the following:

People spend an average of two to four hours a day with their heads tilted over reading and texting on their smart phones and devices. Cumulatively this is 700 to 1400 hours a year of excess stresses seen about the cervical spine. It is possible that a high school student may spend an extra 5,000 hours in poor posture.(4)

The finding is one that serves to help cervical spine surgeons and the general public be more in tune to the changes that are likely taking place in the body due to the use of such technologies.

Loss of the natural curve of the cervical spine leads to incrementally increased stresses about the cervical spine. These stresses may lead to early wear, tear, degeneration, and possibly surgeries. While it is nearly impossible to avoid the technologies that cause these issues, individuals should make an effort to look at their phones with a neutral spine and to avoid spending hours each day hunched over.(4)

Shockingly, the researchers discovered that one’s neck position was related to the amount of extra weight put on their spine; a 15 degree bend meant 27 pounds of pressure, while a 60 degree bend looking down at a mobile device meant that 60 pounds of force was being applied.(4)

Suddenly, checking late-night work emails or browsing craft ideas on Pinterest isn’t as appealing, is it?

References:

(1) https://www.ibtimes.co.uk

(2) https://www.dailymail.co.uk

(3) https://www.mayoclinic.org

(4) https://cbsminnesota.files.wordpress.com^[PDF] 

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The effects from repeated and long term cell phone use have yet to be seen, but once we figure it out, it may be too late. This article suggests some simple strategies to consider.

We live in a world full of electro-magnetic frequencies, and becoming fuller by the day. Each day new WiFi units are setup, new cell phone towers are built towering our homes and communities and people have more electronic devices now than they ever have at any point in history. Each electronic device emits some sort of electric pollution, otherwise known as EMF’s (electro-magnetic frequencies). Our modern tech centered world is becoming more polluted by the day.

If you’re unfamiliar with EMF’s or electrical pollution in general, please do your research and look into it. Some people say this is “pseudo-science” but charts showing brain temperature when exposed to cell phones would disagree with that notion. The truth is electro-magnetic frequencies effect us on a daily basis more than we know and the problem is only getting worse, so we need to take proactive action.

Our soil has been becoming more toxic and less nutrient dense by the year, and that causes the water and food quality to decrease dramatically. If you look at pesticide use, chemical production and the amount of chemicals used in general in today’s world compared to 100 years ago you can directly correlate the rise in chemical use to the rise in disease, sickness and ailments on the rise. Radiation from electrical devices are hard to make tangible cognitively because we don’t see them, we just see the device.

You can look up pictures and videos of oil spills, chemical dumps, and anything related to polluting the environment which pollutes our health online but the use of gadgets doesn’t hit home until you either feel it or see the effects firsthand.

Radiation from electrical devices and especially cell phones have negative effects. They cause more inflammation in your body which means your body will feel more tense and stressed. They restrict healthy blood flow and circulation which is one of the main key pillars for health and vitality as well as disease prevention. You may also have frequent headaches simply due to electro-magnetic frequencies. Personally if I talk on the phone for 50 minutes or more I begin to feel tension in my head and like to keep my phone calls shorter and spaced out for this reason.

You may be like me, you feel tension or get headaches when you are on the cell phone too much. The radiation is closes to your brain and head in general so keeping calls short is smartest. One thing that’s always bothered me is there are a lot of little sticker type products that you can put on your phone that claim to reduce electro-magnetic frequencies but none of them really have any science behind them, as far as what I’ve seen thus far.

Thankfully there are things you can do that no one seems to be sharing, I’m really not quite sure why! Maybe it’s because people are generally unaware that you can do anything. I just care about all aspects of health fully and feel like this is extremely important and avoided far too often. That’s why i’m sharing it today.

4 Ways To Reduce Cell Phone Radiation:

• Use Airplane Mode Frequently! By turning your phone on airplane mode you effectively turn emitting EMF’s off. It’s the fastest, easiest and most common sense way to reduce EMF’s. I always have my phone on airplane mode if i’m carrying it in my pocket or on my body at all. When I sleep at night my phone is on airplane mode the whole night. This is by far the best and most influential way to reduce the greatest amount of EMF’s.

• Walk Barefoot While on The Phone: Negative ions are one of your best friends when it comes to reduce EMF’s and by walking barefoot and being connected to the Earth’s negative ionosphere your body benefits from these and reduces the negative impacts of radiation, one of which is positively charged ions. By walking barefoot your body benefits from the earths negative ions simply by touching it with your skin. An even better approach is to walk along any body of water and have your feet in a natural body of water as these are rich in negative ions. Just don’t do this during a thunderstorm with lightning!

• Drink More Water: Negative ions stem from oxygen and have one extra electron attached. They come from water. Walking or having your feet in a natural body of water but drinking water before talking on a cell phone (or using any high emitting EMF device) is one of the best ways to empower your body to reduce the positive ion load caused by electro-magnetic frequencies. Additionally add pinches of Himalayan salt to give your body minerals and trace minerals which help your electrical and nervous system to respond better, or simply drink coconut water which is already electrolyte rich. When it comes to reducing the negative effects of EMF’s think in terms of water, minerals and oxygen. These all build you more of a resilient wall of protection.

• Use Speakerphone: Using speaker phone doesn’t reduce the EMF’s but it distances you from them by a few feet as opposed to having the EMF’s sitting directly next to your brain, and that helps a lot. I always use speakerphone just to get more of a distance and keep EMF’s away from my brain and internal organs because those are more priority than my exterior joints and ligaments.

Lastly, based on people I’ve spoken too at a health institute a few years back and research I’ve done it’s also beneficial to hold the phone in your right-hand instead of your left. Why? Your energetic body flows out towards the right and releases energy on the right-hand side. By using your phone on speaker in your right-hand you’re discharging it away from your body. If you hold the phone in your left hand those EMF’s are more attracted inward to your body which you then have to deal with. Isn’t it interesting to how the heart is in the left hand portion of our chest and pumps blood to the right from the left? and isn’t it also interesting how most people are right-handed as well? Energetically energy and power flows to the right, so if you use your right-hand to your advantage you can discharge the EMF’s away from your body instead of towards it. Even if you believe this is a load of bollocks doesn’t it make sense intuitively to hold the phone in your stronger more dominant hand? If you’re left-handed I don’t know what to tell you, I’d still go right with it!

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