Minimalist Living Tips For Healthy Cell Phone Use In Everyday Life
These supercomputers we affectionately call cell phones or smartphones have become indispensable tools that enhance everyday life. Does this include Healthy cell phone use?
My challenge to you is to reduce the time you waste using your cell phone to see if it will have a direct effect on increased productivity, health, wellness, and overall happiness.
Health and wellness? Yes!
Too much of even what would initially be considered a good thing can turn out to be bad for you. Too much food, too much exercise, and even too much work can lead to bad results.
Along with the cell phone’s ability to improve your quality of life, there are negative side effects on physical and mental health that can do more harm than the initial gain in the quality of your life.
Excessive cell phone use has been linked to triggering a multitude of addictions, lessening social skills, causing depression, and a host of other mental and physical ill-effects.
What if I told you my minimalist living tips for healthy cell phone use could lessen or eliminate all ill effects caused by cell phone use?
I hope you find value in them.
Mental Healthy Cell Phone Use
Are you mentally addicted to your cell phone? Are you addicted to the artificial sense of connection with our cell phone provider? Addictions are usually a bad thing.
Even if, you do not believe you are addicted some cell phone use can be mentally unhealthy. Studies show the blue light of our electronic screens before bed suppresses a chemical called melatonin that aids in restful sleep.
We all are familiar with the negative results of not getting the recommended 8 hours of sleep regularly. As a Minimalist, I am not a fan of burning the candle at both ends. LOL.
“In the report, based on a survey of more than 440,000 Americans, about 35 percent said they usually got less than 7 hours of sleep a night. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which conducted the study, recommends that adults ages 18 to 60 get at least 7 hours of sleep per night”.
Extreme cell phone use hampers our ability to concentrate, be productive, be creative, be mentally healthy, and overall happiness.
Here are some Minimalist tips for mentally healthy cell phone use.
1. Go on a cell phone diet.
Try to consciously avoid the need to be connected 24 hours a day. Take scheduled breaks to form internet connectivity and cell phone use. Avoid the knee-jerk behavior to check your phone every few minutes.
When you are bored or idle train yourself not to mindlessly reach for your cell phone. I understand when you are in line for some reason or there is downtime you would like to check your email or social media.
But nothing has changed from two minutes or ten minutes ago. Train yourself to do something more productive or even relaxing and enjoyable with that free time.
Even taking time to relax, clear your mind and daydream allows your subconscious to do its job and stitch together all the things you saw, felt, and learned during the day.
Scheduled times in the day or a day in the week to abstain from cell phone use. Don’t freak out. Slow down and breathe. You can do it. It can be done.
You don’t have to leave your home without your cell phone. Take baby steps. Leave your phone in a drawer and go to lunch, do housework or just listen to music for your home entertainment system.
You will be surprised how freeing it can be.
Let me know your results in the comment below.
2. Take a break from Social Media
Taking a break from social media can be liberating. Sometimes watching everyone’s highlight reel can be taxing. Try taking a day off, if it feels good try taking another, then another.
I don’t use social media for personal use any longer so when I disappear no one misses me. I suggest you post or alert the followers of your scheduled absence. You may experience a real friend or two reaching out for an actual friendly face-to-face get-together.
Social media, text, and email notifications can be distracting and stressful. Try periodically turning them off. I always found it strange we readily allow almost anyone around the world to have access to us at a push of a button.
There was a time the ping of notifications would cause my heart to race and anxiety to instantly build not knowing the who, what, when, and where of that notification.
The fear of missing out can be real. Now I only turn on notifications during business hours if at all. To some, it may sound crazy but I believe everyone will find value in following this practice.
Make More Time for Good Friends and Family
As a Minimalist, I believe I should pay special attention to making more time-work things I consider important in my life. There are times cell phone use lessens the quality of special times in our lives. We should be mindful of that.
Loved ones should not have to wait for you to check social media, email, or text to get your undivided attention. Loved one’s quality time with you should not be lessened by you involuntarily checking your cell phone every ten minutes.
Most of all avoid accepting phone calls when spending quality time with good friends and family no matter how hard they try to convince you it would not be a problem.
Believe it or not, there are times it would be better to turn your phone off or put it away to fully enjoy experiences with good friends and family.
Give it a try. You can do it.
Physical Healthy Cell Phone Use
Cell phone use can be physically unhealthy and even dangerous at times. Something as simple as texting causes 11,000 Injuries a Year. Believe it or not, the biggest physical danger that accompanies cell phone use is radiation.
breaks to form internet connectivity and cell phone use. Avoid the knee-jerk behavior to check your phone every few minutes.
When you are bored or idle train yourself not to mindlessly reach for your cell phone. I understand when you are in line for some reason or there is downtime you would like to check your email or social media.
“Cell phones (including smartphones) give off a form of energy known as radio frequency (RF) waves, so some concerns have been raised about the safety of cell phone use. With respect to cancer, concern focuses on whether cell phones might increase the risk of brain tumors or other tumors in the head and neck area”.
I have not found any evidence extreme cell phone RF waves cause cancer but I must admit I was afraid to do debt research for fear of what I may find. LOL.
Because cell phone use has become an integral part of modern life and they are not going anywhere soon I suggest you take these minimal healthy cell phone use tips.
1. Avoid Wearing Your Phone On Your Body
I am guilty of carrying my phone in my front pocket. I cringe when I see people talking on the phone with it wedged under a baseball cap pressing against their ears and faces. The ghetto Bluetooth may prove to be dangerous one day.
I have also seen women carry their phones in their bras but in most cases, women can carry their phones in their purses to avoid exposure to radiation.
I believe everyone should avoid carrying phones on their bodies as little as possible. Remember cell phones are powerful transceivers. They are constantly sending and receiving signals whether in use or not.
Constant exposure to radiation is a cause for concern. Have you ever seen an Xray Technician stay and chat with you during the X-ray? HELL NO! LOL.
They run leaving the room as if you have the Cooties. The World Health Organization has classified long-term cell phone use as a Group 2B: Possibly carcinogenic to humans.
There is evidence in younger women that normal developing breast Cancer and impaired fertility in men may be linked to cell phone radiation. Why take the risk?
2. Go Hand Free and Not Pressed Against Your face
Actually taking phone calls is becoming less of a practice nowadays. When taking a call I suggest you use a Bluetooth headset to lessen your exposure to radiation.
Have you ever read the legal terms presented on your phone? Of course, you have not. Neither have I until recently. The companies have protected themselves and you should too.
iPhone (Settings > General > About > Legal > RF Exposure).
Android Phones (Settings > Legal Information > RF Information).
Check it out.
Not to put a damper on things, I would just like you to be aware. For more info and to get Apple Inc’s recommendations Click Here.
3. Create Cell Phone Free Zones
If your cell phone is powered on it’s transmitting and receiving. I have instituted the kitchen and bedroom as cell phone-free zones for more than one reason.
To lessen my exposure to cell phone radiation I do not allow or even charge cell phones in the kitchen or bedrooms. It lessens exposure to cell phone radiation and it brings people closer together because they can not be distracted by their cell phones.
The bedroom and kitchen serve a purpose other than a place to look down at an electronic device. Those are communal places where you spend precious time with good friends, family, and loved ones. NO CELL PHONES ALLOWED!
Put the cell phones down and create amazing experiences.
Productivity Healthy Cell Phone Use
Cell phones are powerful computers that can be used to enhance productivity. Spend far less wasted time having your phone use you and learn to use your phone to enhance your life.
Here are a few cell phone productivity tips to enhance the quality of life and allow more quality time with good friends and family.
1) De-clutter Your Cell Phone
I suggest everyone create a Minimalist Uniform Wardrobe to decrease decision fatigue, I suggest you de-clutter your cell phone.
Check your phone for Apps you have downloaded over the years and never use it. Seriously, check your phone. Trust me those Apps are there and should be deleted. They cause delays thumbing past them to get to your favorite Apps.
Next comes the hard part. Use Minimalist Living Principles to decide if the remaining Apps deserve to live or die. LOL. If you believe I am going to have you take a look at each App and decide if it adds value or sparks joy in your life you are mistaken.
I am going to ask you to do something more difficult that will add more value to healthy cell phone use. Check each remaining App on your phone and ask this one question.
Do I really need this APP on my phone?
Yeah! Do you really need this quick go-anywhere access to that App or service on your phone? Can it be removed and accessed on a computer?
Recently I decided I did not need fast go-anywhere access to FaceBook, WordPress, and the UPS App. I almost removed Google Keep but decided to keep it because I like to take quick notes there.
This will prevent you from wasting time, adding distraction, and fill time when you feel bored by clicking these Apps. Most of the time the mobile versions lack the capability computer access offers.
2) Disable most notifications
You have probably done this already. I usually put my phone on “DO NOT DISTURB” at 8pm. After you have de-clutter your phone now does the same for notifications on the remaining Apps.
Decide if you really need to be interrupted by that App at all times of the day.
3) Increase battery life
You may have eliminated quite a few Apps at this point. Fewer Apps running in the background will greatly increase your phone’s battery life.
Now let’s take a deeper look at the remaining Apps to decide if they need to be running in the background. You can disable that capability or remove the App and access the service on the computer.
Conclusion
I would be the last one to say that cell phone is bad or evil. I just believe there better ways to use them and everyone should be conscious of ways to promote healthy cell phone use.
If you agree, disagree, or believe I missed something please leave a comment below explaining in detail. Again. I hope you found some value in these tips.
