How does your screen time indirectly affects you?

by ActiveSG Masters Club, on August 9, 2020

Does excessive screen time affects my overall health?

Screens disrupts our healthy nutrition habits, sleep, our time for physical activity and it erodes mental health and productivity.

Screen Time and Nutrition

Using screens at meals is a problem because it makes us gain weight.

People who use screens during meals. Eat more during the meal. Snack more after a meal. Eat faster. Don�t pay attention to their level of fullness. Don�t enjoy the meal as much.

83% of Singaporeans use their mobile or other screen during meals, even though more than 50% of Singaporeans find it annoying when others use their mobiles during meals.

Managing screen time during meals promotes healthy eating habits, decreases the amount of food we eat, and helps us build healthy relationships with each other. All we need to do is build the habit!

DAILY HABIT: I WILL EAT BREAKFAST, LUNCH AND DINNER EVERY DAY WITHOUT SCREENS

This habit reduces distractions that can lead to overeating, and help you practice positive eating habits like eating slowly and until satisfied (not stuffed).

Because eating is also often done with others, this habit helps you reconnect and fully engage with your friends and family.

How do I build this habit?

Keep all screens off and out of reach during meals.
Create a friendly challenge with your family, friends and co-workers by planning �screen-free meals� and leading by example.
Commit to this strategy consistently and build it into your mealtime routine!

Screen Time and Sleep

Sleeping more than 7 hours per night makes us more motivated and productive and helps prevent almost every major chronic disease.

Screens are a convenient way to unwind. But that�s a problem, because looking at screens within 30 minutes of bedtime (including televisions, computer screens, tablets, and mobile phones) compromises sleep. The blue light emitted by the screens suppresses the release of melatonin, an important sleep hormone. This makes it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep. And we don�t wake up feeling rested and alert.

Using electronics before bed also makes us feel less sleepy. So we stay up later and don�t get our 7 hours of sleep, making us part of the 44% of Singapore�s adults who are clinically sleep deprived. By using habits to manage our screen time before bed, we can significantly improve this number, and our health.

DAILY HABIT: I WILL NOT LOOK AT SCREENS FOR A MINIMUM OF 30 MINUTES BEFORE BEDTIME

This habit reduces nighttime exposure to blue light and external stimulation from media, which suppress sleep hormones and mask tiredness. By paying attention to how tired you feel, you can naturally improve sleep quantity and quality.

How do I build this habit?

Decide on your bedtime, and make sure all screens are off 30 mins beforehand. This also cues your body to start winding down.
Create a bedtime ritual without screens. For example: wash up, read a book or magazine you enjoy (not from a screen!), and make a couple of notes about the things that need to be done the next day to get them off your mind. Get ready for the best sleep of your life!
Build this into your night time routine, and commit to being better, not perfect.

How do I measure my success?

Monitor: Make a note in the morning if you didn�t avoid screens in the 30 minutes before bed.

Screen Time and Physical Activity

Singapore�s adults spend 1,554 minutes of time, every day, on screens for recreational reasons. The minimum amount of physical activity, sport, and exercise needed to significantly improve our health is 150 minutes per week - a measly 10% of the time we spend on screens for recreation every day.

And it�s not just that recreational screen usage takes away time right now - it decreases the chances we�ll be physically active in the future, too.

This is a very uncomfortable truth. Time is finite. Everyone has the same amount of it on any given day. If we manage our screen time wisely, we can improve our health, enjoyment, and quality of life.

DAILY HABIT: I WILL NOT LOOK AT SCREENS DURING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY OR EXERCISE

This habit might seem odd at first, but it packs a ton of benefits into one simple change:

Lets you socialize, increasing your enjoyment of the activity.
It will reduce strain on your neck from constantly looking down (yes, text-neck is a thing!)
Increases your enjoyment of physical activity and exercise by letting you feel how your body responds to movement.

How do I build this habit?

If you use your mobile for timing reasons during exercise, start the timer then immediately put your device away.
Keep your phone away when walking places. Look around, smile, and say hello instead.
Commit to this strategy consistently, and remember that better beats perfect!

Screen Time and Stress Management

Distractions. They are everywhere. And it's a major problem.

Distractions result in high-frequency task-switching, which leads to more errors and low productivity. Some research suggests up to 40% lower productivity.

Right now, the biggest culprit for creating distractions is social media. Open browser tabs, mobile app alerts, and email notifications are always demanding attention, diverting us away from things that actually matter. Things like work, family, (real-life) friends, and ourselves as well.

In fact, social media platforms are designed to command our attention. And the increased usage that results has been linked to:

addictive behaviours, such as compulsion and symptoms of withdrawal, increased anxiety, low self-esteem, symptoms of depression

To reduce these negative effects, we need to set social media boundaries. And considering that 72% of Singaporean adults use Facebook, 43% use Instagram, and 33% use Twitter, we need a simple way to make it a habit.

DAILY HABIT: I WILL USE SOCIAL MEDIA FOR A MAXIMUM OF 30 MINUTES PER DAY

This habit offers a huge payoff. It improves productivity by limiting distractions created from �multitasking�. It decreases the anxiety caused by excessive social media use. It will reduce our exposure to addictive behaviours. Most importantly, this habit gives us more time to spend with family and friends, doing the things we love most.

How do I build this habit?

Turn off notifications and alerts to your mobile and email.
Choose one time each day to check your social media. Book it like an appointment, and include a cut-off time. Eg. Social media time is 12pm to 12:30pm every day.
Be sure to close your social media feed after you�ve finished checking it.
If need to restrict your access, try to only check social media on your computer. Remove all social media apps from your mobile devices.
Want to know exactly how much time you spend on social media with your mobile? The following apps track your mobile screen time, and the specific apps you�re using: