To remove toxins from mobile, it is better to take in moderation

Just looking around is enough. Smartphones have become our twins for information, communication, games and so on. Worldwide, more than 3.5 billion people own one, and their average time in front of this screen (more than 3 hours a day) is steadily increasing. Although the severity of this use is not considered a pathology by the World Health Organization, its negative effects are scientifically documented: from neck pain to the effects of sleep, from anxiety to depression. Is there a cure for low addiction?

“The question of addiction is always the same. The result is always all or nothing” Bruno Rocher, addicted psychiatrist

To find out, a team of psychologists at the Center for Psychiatric Research and Therapy at the University of Bochum (Germany) launched an unprecedented experiment: recruiting hundreds of volunteers and asking them to avoid using a smartphone for a whole week. At the same time, reduce their consumption to one hour a day. This is to observe the impact of their well-being after four months. “We were surprised by the 619 volunteers who answered our call. More and more people are thinking that their attitude towards smartphones is a problem for their healthJulia Prilovskaya, Senior Researcher in Clinical Psychology Opinions. “Participating in our study can be seen as an incentive to start doing something.”

Less depressive symptoms

The results of the study, “Discovering the ‘sweet spot’ of smartphone use: reducing or abstaining to enhance well-being and a healthy lifestyle! »(Experimental Psychology Journal: Used, April 7), researchers say. Thus, of the three groups of 200 volunteers each (group A) and self-regulated (group B) eventually, and four months after the trial, they used their smartphones better than the third group – “control” – this did not change anything. Both A and B claim to experience fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety and more life satisfaction. They also do more physical exercise.

Another surprising result: “Only Group B saw a decline in their cigarette consumption, which also reduced the average duration of daily phone use (45 minutes and 30 minutes for Group A),” he said. Julia Prilovskaya explains. So abstinents are not the ones who have greatly improved their well-being and health. ⁇

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