While everyone knows some of the risks of too much screen time include eye strain and fatigue, did you know excessive screen time can also restructure your brain and change how you process your emotions?
Spending long hours in front of a screen is detrimental to many areas of your health. This information might encourage you to learn how to limit screen time.
This guide will provide some helpful tips to do that. Keep reading to learn what they are.
Keep a Record of Your Daily Screen Time
If you’ve started showing some of the signs you are staring at a screen too much, you should start taking steps to decrease screen time. One of the best ways to set a limit is understanding where the problem’s coming from.
You might not realize how much time you’re spending in front of your computer or on your phone, so you might have a harder time figuring out where to make changes.
Newer devices have functions that let you see where you’re spending most of your screen time. Once you find out what apps you use most often, you can start making the necessary changes.
Eat Without Watching TV
One way you can start decreasing daily screen time is by eating your meals without watching TV or using your phone. This change can shave off a few hours from your daily screen time.
You might enjoy watching the news while you eat your breakfast or another episode of your favorite show during your lunch break. When you stop doing this at mealtime, however, you’re reducing your chances of developing eye strain. You might enjoy your meal more and eat smaller portions too.
Set Limits on Your Devices
Setting limits on your devices might be your best way of stopping yourself from wasting time on social media. There are many apps for limiting screen time if you have Apple devices.
If you want to block websites on Macbook, you can use the Screen Time function to filter out websites that keep you distracted. You’ll need to open Screen Time by going to System Preferences.
You’ll then click on App Limits and click on any app or website you want to limit your use of. You can customize how much time you’re allowed to spend on each site or app.
Focus is another website blocker you can use. To use Focus, you’ll need to click on the icon and then choose Preferences.
Once there, you should find the Blocking option and add any websites you want to block. You can also set a schedule to limit usage.
Avoid Watching TV in Bed
Keeping a TV in your bedroom is one of the worst decisions you can make if you’re trying to limit your screen time. Getting into bed at night and turning on the TV can turn from an hour of your favorite show to staying up all night to finish the season.
Decrease your screen time by keeping your TV in the living room. This ensures you have to turn it off and head to your room. It’ll decrease your chances of staying up longer.
Avoid keeping any screens in your bedroom, this includes your phone. It’s more likely you’ll check your phone first thing in the morning; a few minutes of checking emails can turn into hours of scrolling.
Instead, keep a traditional alarm clock next to your bed and avoid using any of your devices before bed.
Take Stretch Breaks
If you work in front of a screen for eight hours, you might find it difficult to cut back on screen time. Scheduling some breaks into your work schedule can help.
You can follow the 20-20-20 rule to avoid eye strain and fatigue. This rule requires you to look away from your screen every 20 minutes and look at an item 20 feet away for about 20 seconds.
You should also stand up and stretch your arms and legs when you’re feeling strained. This will increase your productivity and help break up your screen time.
Avoid Screens After Work
While you might not be able to avoid looking at screens for your work, you can control how much screen time you have after work. Once your workday ends, don’t check your emails or messages.
Instead of sitting down and watching TV or playing video games, try doing after-work activities that get you moving and out of the house. This will decrease screen time and stress too.
Delete Distracting Apps
If you want to limit screen time, you should delete the apps that keep you glued to your phone the most. While you can’t delete work chats or apps needed to complete assignments, there are apps you don’t need to use every day.
Social media apps like Instagram and TikTok are some of the most popular and might be contributing to your weekly screen time. While you don’t have to delete your accounts for good, taking social media breaks can decrease the time you waste online and improve your mental health.
Turn Off Notifications
Notifications are one of the most distracting parts of having a smartphone. Keeping your notifications off can help decrease your daily screen time.
You can turn off notifications for apps that aren’t too important. Disable notifications during working hours to keep you focused and distraction-free while you work.
Find New Hobbies
You might turn to your phone when you’re bored or have some extra time. To cut back on this screen time, you can fill your free time with new hobbies.
Instead of picking up your phone and scrolling through social media, you can try reading a book or practicing some knitting.
Learn How to Limit Screen Time With These Tips
You can learn how to limit screen time by following the tips in this guide. Use apps to block websites or set time limits on your devices. You can also turn off notifications to avoid distractions.
Check out some of the other tech blogs on our site for more tips.
