1 00:00:09,560 --> 00:00:13,200 Speaker 1: Hey, everyone, welcome to another edition of Wisdom Wednesdays. Today 2 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:16,320 Speaker 1: we are going to dive into something that affects pretty 3 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:20,240 Speaker 1: much all of us, our relationship with our smartphones, and 4 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:23,040 Speaker 1: more importantly, what happens when. 5 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:25,200 Speaker 2: We actually take a break from them. 6 00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:27,880 Speaker 1: So a new study just dropped and I found it 7 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:31,720 Speaker 1: pretty fascinating and a little bit confronting as well. And 8 00:00:31,760 --> 00:00:35,680 Speaker 1: it turns out that three days of reduced smartphone use, 9 00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:40,720 Speaker 1: not even quitting entirely, can actually measurably change your brain. 10 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:42,519 Speaker 2: So let's dive into it. 11 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:47,000 Speaker 1: So researchers in Germany brought together a group of twenty 12 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:51,559 Speaker 1: five healthy adults and asked them to drastically limit their 13 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:55,840 Speaker 1: smartphone use for seventy two hours. Now, they weren't told 14 00:00:56,160 --> 00:01:00,200 Speaker 1: to get rid of their smartphones, and they just had 15 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:04,800 Speaker 1: to use them only for essentials, for calls, for navigating 16 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:07,800 Speaker 1: for emergency, so pretty much turn them into dumb phones 17 00:01:08,319 --> 00:01:12,399 Speaker 1: with a bit of navigation skills. Now here's the interesting part. 18 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:16,520 Speaker 1: Before and after those three days, the participants had their 19 00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:21,600 Speaker 1: brain scanned using neuroimaging, and what the researchers found was 20 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:25,720 Speaker 1: that certain brain areas, and especially the ones that are 21 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:29,880 Speaker 1: linked to both reward and impulse control. These are areas 22 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:33,800 Speaker 1: like the middle frontal jaris and the superior parietal. 23 00:01:33,319 --> 00:01:34,720 Speaker 2: Lobe if you really want to know. 24 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:39,800 Speaker 1: But these areas literally changed activity after the break from 25 00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:44,280 Speaker 1: their smartphones, and specifically, these brain areas let up less 26 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:47,280 Speaker 1: when participants looked at images. 27 00:01:46,880 --> 00:01:49,760 Speaker 2: Of a part on smartphone. 28 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:53,760 Speaker 1: Sorry, And what that suggests is that the brain's craving 29 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:55,160 Speaker 1: circuits were. 30 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:57,160 Speaker 2: Cooling down, so to speak. 31 00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:02,640 Speaker 1: And interestingly, these participants didn't report feeling much different, So 32 00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:06,480 Speaker 1: the brain was changing even if the people weren't consciously 33 00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:09,040 Speaker 1: aware of it. Let's put this into a little bit 34 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:14,079 Speaker 1: of context. What this is really tapping into is neuroplasticity, 35 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:17,520 Speaker 1: the ability of the brain to rewire itself, and we 36 00:02:17,639 --> 00:02:21,519 Speaker 1: know that it does this continuously based on the stimuli 37 00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:25,320 Speaker 1: that you feed it, so whether it's food, exercise, stress, 38 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:29,800 Speaker 1: or screen time, this actually conditions the brain. And other 39 00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:34,160 Speaker 1: studies actually back this up. Excessive smartphone use has been 40 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:40,119 Speaker 1: linked to lower connectivity in brain regions responsible for attention, memory, 41 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:45,600 Speaker 1: and self control, and therefore inducing more ADHD like behaviors. 42 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:49,880 Speaker 1: It's not just about screen addiction, it's how much time 43 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:55,560 Speaker 1: we spend in that constant state of partial attention. Our 44 00:02:55,680 --> 00:02:59,160 Speaker 1: phones have become a kind of slot machine in our pocket. 45 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:02,919 Speaker 1: Each ding buzz or notification gives us a little bit 46 00:03:02,919 --> 00:03:07,120 Speaker 1: of dopamine hit and over time that shapes the brain 47 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:09,920 Speaker 1: in subtle but significant ways. 48 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:12,000 Speaker 2: So a detox, even. 49 00:03:11,720 --> 00:03:15,520 Speaker 1: A short one, can start to reverse that process and 50 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:19,519 Speaker 1: reverse the reward or the pull that we actually feel 51 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:23,639 Speaker 1: towards it. Now, what if you went beyond three days? Well, 52 00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:26,760 Speaker 1: another study, this one out of the UK, asks people 53 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:30,560 Speaker 1: to block mobile internet for two full weeks and the 54 00:03:30,639 --> 00:03:34,720 Speaker 1: results were improved focus, better mood, better sleep, and a 55 00:03:34,760 --> 00:03:38,680 Speaker 1: feeling of being more present. And get this, participants said 56 00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:42,720 Speaker 1: they felt like their brains were ten years younger, and 57 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:46,400 Speaker 1: that is pretty compelling. In fact, the improvements in mental 58 00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:52,080 Speaker 1: well being were actually clinically significant. It's like having someone 59 00:03:52,120 --> 00:03:57,440 Speaker 1: with depression have an intervention that reverses their depression. So 60 00:03:57,520 --> 00:04:00,560 Speaker 1: why does this actually matter? Well, most of us don't 61 00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:04,560 Speaker 1: even realize how often we're checking our phones, and the 62 00:04:04,760 --> 00:04:09,240 Speaker 1: average person taps or swipes their screen over a thousand 63 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:12,880 Speaker 1: times a day, and that's just the average. All of 64 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:16,200 Speaker 1: this takes a toll on our attention spans, our stress levels, 65 00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:19,760 Speaker 1: our sleep, and our relationships. And this isn't about being 66 00:04:19,880 --> 00:04:22,279 Speaker 1: anti tech, because I'm not anti tech at all, but 67 00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:24,760 Speaker 1: it is about being aware of how much tech is 68 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:27,960 Speaker 1: shaping us and what we can do to take back 69 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:30,680 Speaker 1: some level of control. So what do we actually do 70 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:34,760 Speaker 1: with this information? Here's a few simple tips. Firstly, try 71 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:37,240 Speaker 1: the seventy two hour reset that they date in this 72 00:04:37,600 --> 00:04:41,400 Speaker 1: just three days. Keep your phones just for calls, emergencies, 73 00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:45,280 Speaker 1: and maybe navigation on Google Maps or whatever. Everything else 74 00:04:45,320 --> 00:04:49,880 Speaker 1: social media news messages that goes on pause. Leaving little 75 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:52,400 Speaker 1: things like storing your phone in a drawer when you 76 00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:56,520 Speaker 1: get home to work actually makes a difference. That physical 77 00:04:56,680 --> 00:05:00,920 Speaker 1: distance makes the difference. You're far less likely to mindlessly 78 00:05:00,960 --> 00:05:03,920 Speaker 1: reach for it. Also, turn off notifications, which I did 79 00:05:03,960 --> 00:05:06,440 Speaker 1: a couple of years ago. They are just dopamine bombs, 80 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:10,120 Speaker 1: and disable anything that is not urgent, so you can 81 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:13,599 Speaker 1: let your brain breathe a little bit. And then they've 82 00:05:13,640 --> 00:05:17,920 Speaker 1: even shown that putting your phone in grayscale mode makes 83 00:05:17,960 --> 00:05:21,480 Speaker 1: it less enticing, so no bright, shiny apps to lure 84 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:24,160 Speaker 1: you in. And then the other thing that we're massive 85 00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:27,080 Speaker 1: on in this house is create no phone zone. So 86 00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:29,120 Speaker 1: every time we go out to a restaurant, nobody has 87 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:32,080 Speaker 1: allowed their phone on the table, and lots of other 88 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:35,560 Speaker 1: families are just most of them are, not all of 89 00:05:35,560 --> 00:05:39,400 Speaker 1: them are on their phone. Things like so all meal times, bedtime, 90 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:42,960 Speaker 1: eight o'clock, nine o'clock, whatever it might be, put the phone. 91 00:05:42,680 --> 00:05:44,120 Speaker 2: Away morning routine. 92 00:05:44,160 --> 00:05:48,360 Speaker 1: I've always said, if your eyes hit your phone before 93 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:51,040 Speaker 1: your feet hit the floor in the morning, your life 94 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:54,920 Speaker 1: is pretty fucked. So there are some things that you 95 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:59,640 Speaker 1: can actually do just to tie that short digital break 96 00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:02,520 Speaker 1: to see if you can start to rewind your brain, 97 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:05,400 Speaker 1: and then if it's good, go for a longer break 98 00:06:05,400 --> 00:06:06,320 Speaker 1: to see what happens. 99 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:09,279 Speaker 2: So that's it for this week, folks, Catch you next time.