Don’t feel you always have to be there. In the not-so-olden days of letters and landlines, contacting someone was slow and unreliable and an effort. In the age of WhatsApp and Messenger it’s free and easy and instant. The flipside of this case is that we are expected to be there. To pick up the phone. To get back to the text. To answer the email. To update our social media. But we can choose not to feel that obligation. We can sometimes just let them wait. We can risk our social media getting stale. And if our friends are friends they will understand when we need some headspace. And if they aren’t friends, why bother getting back anyway?

2. Turn off notifications

This is essential. This keeps me [just about] sane. All of them. All notifications. You don’t need any of them. Take back control.

3. Keep the phone away from you

Have times of the day where you’re not beside your phone. Okay, I’m bad at this one. But I’m getting better. No one needs their phone all the time. We don’t need it by the bed. We don’t need it while we’re eating meals at home. We don’t need it when we go out for a run. Here’s something I do now: I go for a walk without my phone. I know it sounds ridiculous to present that as some big achievement, but for me it was. It’s like exercise. It takes effort.

4. Don’t keep checking you phone

Don’t press the home button to check the screen every two minutes for texts. Practise feeling the urge to check and don’t.

5. Don’t link your joy to your phone battery

Don’t tie your anxiety levels to how much power you have left on your phone.

6. Don’t swear at your phone

Don’t plead with your phone. Don’t bargain with your phone. Don’t throw your phone across the room. It is indifferent to your feelings. If the phone has no signal, or no power, it is not because it hates you. It is because it is an inanimate object. It is, in short, a phone.

7. Don’t put your phone by the bed

I’m not judging, by the way. Most people sleep with their smartphone by the bed because they’ve replaced alarm clocks. Most nights I have the phone by the bed. My parents have their phones by the bed. Everyone I know has their phones by their beds. Maybe one day our beds will be our phones. But I do seem to sleep better when my phone isn’t by my bed. You know, if it’s in another room, or even just another part of the room. I know it might be unrealistic. But it’s good to have an aspiration. A dream to work towards. To fantasise about the day when we’re strong enough never to need to have the phone by our beds. Like the olden days. The 1800s. The 1900s. 2006.

8. Practise app minimalism

An overload of apps and options adds to the choice but also stress of smartphone use. We are given an almost infinite array of things we can add to our phones. But more choice leads to more decisions and more stress. You were born without any apps on your phone. Hey! Guess what? You were born without any phone at all. And life was still beautiful.

9. Don’t try to multitask

We have phones that can do everything from map read to tune our guitars, and it’s tempting to imagine that we can do as many things, and all at once. For instance, while writing this one point alone I have had to consciously stop myself from checking my emails, checking my text messages, checking my social media. It took effort. According to neuroscientist Daniel Levitin, we aren’t really made for the kind of multitasking the internet age encourages us to do. ‘Even though we think we’re getting a lot done, ironically, multitasking makes us demonstrably less efficient,’ he writes, in The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload. Multitasking creates a dopamine-addiction cycle, rewarding the brain for losing focus. It can also increase stress and lower IQ. ‘Instead of reaping the big rewards that come from sustained, focused effort, we instead reap empty rewards from completing a thousand little sugar-coated tasks,’ concludes Levitin.

10. Accept uncertainty

The temptation to check your phone is down to uncertainty. That’s what makes it so addictive. You want someone to get back to your text but you don’t know if they have. You want to check. You want to see the promise and mystery of the three little circles, dancing with hope. You want to know how your photo or status update is going down. But why do we need to know right now? Why can’t it all wait till after your lie-in/meeting/walk/TV show/meal/daydream? Do people really need to check their phones during meetings, or while attending funerals? Maybe if we understood that the checking is never fully satisfying we wouldn’t. Because there is no end to the uncertainty. There is no final checking of your smartphone. Think of all the times you checked your phone yesterday. Did you really need to so often? I certainly didn’t. I have definitely cut down, but still have a way to go. How many times do you touch your phone a day? Or look at it? It might be hard to keep count. The answer might be well in the hundreds. Imagine, l say to myself, if you just looked at your phone, say, five times a day. What catastrophe would occur?

The post 10 Ways to Own a Smartphone and Still Be a Functioning Human Being appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Occipital neuralgia

This is a neurological condition where the nerves that run from the top of the spinal cord up through the scalp become compressed or inflamed due to improper posture maintained for long duration i.e. bending forward while using a Smartphone. The symptoms are similar to that of migraine.

Text neck syndrome

Commonly occurring due to bending the neck downwards to look into the cellphone. Text neck syndrome is characterised by neck discomfort, pain and stiffness. Teenagers and young people are now increasingly suffering from this condition. The neck is meant to support the weight of the head. But with continuous forward bending while looking into screens, this load is aggravated leading to additional stress on the neck. Moreover, there is a forward titling of the shoulders that adds load on the muscles too. A rise in use of smartphones along with increasing number of hours at the desk, together have caused a rise in the number of Text Neck Syndrome cases. This is especially alarming in young children, who might suffer from permanent damage of their cervical [neck] spine.

Smartphone elbow

Medically known as Cubital Tunnel Syndrome, smartphone elbow is characterised by tingling, numbness, pain and occasional burning in the forearm and hand. This happens due to keeping your arm bent for a long time in order to hold the phone close to the ears. The nerve in the elbow known as ulnar nerve gets compressed while bending the elbow, thereby leading to this condition. An easy way to detect this is to press and tap over the hollow on the elbow and check for any pain/ sensitivity.

Selfie elbow

Selfie elbow, a condition similar to tennis elbow, is strain and stiffness of the elbow due to over stretching of the arm while taking a selfie. Extending arms for long period of time or in the wrong manner for taking selfies has resulted in increasing number of people visiting their doctors with these complaints.

People who have the habit of taking multiple selfies in a day are facing this problem. This condition aggravates if the person is involved in sports like tennis, squash, etc. Using selfie stick and minimising the number of selfies taken per day can prevent aggravation of pain and other symptoms.

Blackberry thumb or texting thumb

Repeated texting with the thumb can lead to inflammation of the tendon sheath of the thumb which leads to a condition called as de Quervain’s tenosynovitis. This is swelling and irritation of the tendons and the protective sheaths around them. Typical symptoms include pain in the thumb, especially base of the thumb which may be accompanied by swelling. These symptoms are aggravated while performing pinching and grasping movements of the thumb. If left untreated, the condition may worsen leading to reduced grip strength and reduced range of motion in the wrist.

Text claw

Text claw is when you have cramps and soreness in all the fingers. This is due to overall excess use of a smartphone, be it for texting, calling, or even browsing the net. Uncontrolled smartphone usage can also cause inflammation of your tendons and worsen existing conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome. Complications of all these problems can range from chronic pain to arthritis of the joints involved.

Nomophobia

Short for “no-mobile-phone phobia”, this is the fear of being without your phone. A lot of people fear losing their phone or being without their phones, even for a short time duration. This sometimes gives rise to anxiety and panic. For a lot of people there is always an underlying tension that they may loose their phone and hence obsessively keep checking for it.

Psychological problems

Addiction of mobile phone and social networking has become very common. Obsession of being available every time can lead to anxiety, stress and irritability. This is not just seen in teenagers but also working executives where they have an obsession of responding immediately to each and every text, mail or tweet. If they fail to do so, it leads them to feel very angry and under constant pressure. It’s like they are constantly trying to meet some deadline. Many people who are addicted to social life become very conscious while facing strangers as their face to face communication skills weaken over time. Even people who were previously having good interpersonal skills may find themselves becoming antisocial or recluses.

Phantom pocket vibration syndrome

Those who are addicted to their smartphones begin to experience phantom vibrations, thinking their phone is buzzing when it isn’t. And they keep on checking their phone every 5-7 minutes, in their pockets or purses, thinking it is vibrating. This also causes them to be distracted during meetings or mealtimes. Even though the phone is on vibration mode their attention will be divided as they are afraid of missing a call or notification.

It can affect your memory

Using your phone instead of your brain to recall information could make you mentally lazy, say researchers at the University of Waterloo in Canada. The study of 600 people found a significant correlation between less time spent on the phone and stronger cognitive skills and powers of analysis. As we know the logic of our brain, “Use it or lose it”. Next time you’re trying to recall the name of a film or find your way to a restaurant, for example, try working it out for yourself before resorting to Google.

Insomnia

Watching mobile screen late nights can disturb your sleeping pattern. The light exposure can actually push back sleep time twice as long as coffee does, thanks to its ability to suppress melatonin, the hormone that helps with sleep timing. Sleep deprivation can lead to many physical and mental health problems.

Impaired vision

Continuous looking in the small screen of mobile may lead to blurred vision, tired eyes, dizziness and even migraine. Direct exposure to blue light – like the one that comes from cellphone screens – can cause damage to the retina of the eye which can cause macular degeneration loosing the central vision.

Apart from this; many people are unaware of the harmful electromagnetic radiation [EMR] from Smartphones, so the majority of people take their Smartphones to bed and everywhere they go. The EMR radiation may cause DNA damage, brain dysfunction, and sleeping problems. Also it is observed that men who keep mobiles in their trouser pockets are more prone to infertility as mobile radiation can significantly reduce the sperm count.

How do I protect myself from these problems

• Prevention of cellphone overuse is the best way forward and the onus is on you individually to monitor your usage
• Temporary relief by painkillers and ice fomentation can help if you are already facing any muscle stiffness or one of the syndromes mentioned above
• Immobilisation of the body part involved by using a brace or splint can support the area and prevent overactivity
• Physical therapy can be started after initial control of symptoms to strengthen the muscles and tendons of the elbow, hand and wrist.

The long term solution

• Use the ball of your thumb while using the phone rather than the tip
• Alternate between thumb and index finger for using the phone
• Keep the phone at eye level while using it
• Adjusting the contrast and brightness to comfort levels
• Avoiding bending your neck sideways to hold the phone when your hands are busy. Instead use headphones for the same
• Use earphones for longer duration calls
• Avoid using phones while driving or walking on the road
• Avoid continuous staring at the screen to avoid eyesight problems
• Don’t use your Smartphone in the bedroom. Either switch off it or turn it on silent mode to avoid disturbance
• Don’t become dependent on your Smartphone to manage every aspect of your life. Rather, try to solve your problems on your own or by talking to your friends and family. Don’t search for every solution on Google, first try to ask a real person for help
• Avoid keeping your mobile phone in your pocket. Keep it in your bag and zip or close the bag so that your mobile is not easily accessible to you and at hand’s reach
• Never use your Smartphone as your alarm clock, or chatting, checking emails and other notifications will be the first thing you do in the morning
• Minimise use of social media on smartphone. Use it only on your laptop or at a fixed time during the day
• Get rid of all time wasting apps from your phone.

The post The innumerable ways your smartphone is harming you appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.