The third part of this months special series on sleep and relaxation is all about our daily and what so many of us consider, super necessary, use of various devices, technical devices, things like our phones, our laptops or computer and of course many other and their relationship with sleep and relaxation processes that are taking place in our bodies. We all use at least one phone and one laptop or computer pretty much on a day to basis, and in this day and age, for so many of us, life seems to be very difficult or even perhaps impossible without them. While there are of course devices, like the medical ones that actually sustain the life of someone who really needs them, many of the other ones, those used on a daily basis are not really that essential to our survivor. Devices are not good or bad by themselves, but, the ways in which we use them and interact with them can be providing quality to our lives or can be taking away from us precious time and resources that could be otherwise used for better purposes.
I have to say, I am really not such a big fan of social media, and especially in the last years I have also been slowly reducing my time spent on this kind of platforms, alternating with intervals of no use at all. Now, its been more that one year since I have closed my last account on a social platform, which, by the way I decided to reopen at that time just because the University I was attending some master classes could not figure out a better way of communicating with its students, which in and of itself its also another problem with those kind of media and the expectations that arise from integrating the use of such things. Since then, June 2019, when I finished the last university class, I have been totally off social media platforms and I have to say it feels great. But what is the connection with sleep, you might be asking yourself? Well lets take a moment to look at this in a detailed mode.
Television and social media have been time consumers for ages, but it has only been let`s say pretty recently a general accepted and agreed upon concern for the general public. Those platforms are designed to be addictive by the very smart people behind each and every one of them. What so many people associate with such things is of course relaxation and fun, and a form of connection, which is still far away from the real thing. The truth is that the illusion of connection and the illusion of relaxation that we might get from these if very far from actually doing something that is truly relaxing. Of course, there is always the problem with the idealized lifestyle that we might see on those networks, which most times is far away from the truth or is just one side of that persons actual life, which is still far away from the real thing. Yes, it can be fun, yes, it can be relaxing at times, and yes it can be social, but we have to ask ourselves still, could there be a better way of getting to that place of relaxation, connection or whenever we might be looking for?
The mobility of our devices nowadays makes it even more difficult for many of us to separate ourselves physically from them or from our virtual existences. No matter how amazing our online personas or experiences might be, we still need that experience of the offline, of getting back in touch with our selves and with our truths. Many studies have been shown the impact all the modern devices can have on the quality of sleep, even something as simple as sleeping with your phone next to your head can greatly affect the quality of your sleep. We do have to take a step back and ask ourselves if we really need to literally get in bad with our phones, computers and by extend with all the luggage that comes with it. I personally haven`t done this for a couple of years now, and I have to say that separating work space from relaxation space, not sleeping with my phone next to me and clearing our my relaxation space from all devices as well as having a practice of no devices needed (enjoying things like reading, walking, exercising) has been proven to be significantly helpful to my overall health as well as for my ability to relax and sleep well.
Next week is going to be covered by the last part of this series on sleep and relaxation. Feel free to share this with your friends and family members and enjoy getting healthier and happier together on a day to day basis. Making healthy and fulfilling choices on a day to day basis is a habit just like any other habit and it requires repetition in order to became second nature, but as soon as our bodies and our minds get used to the new habit, then everything unfolds naturally, in a healthy, balanced way. I truly believe that when we take care of our bodies and nourish ourselves with the most nutritious and fulfilling plant based foods available to us at all times, as well as nourishing practices, then we are really able to reach our full potential and live life to its fullest. Until then, have an amazing week and if you do decide to give those offline practices a try or have been using them in the past, leave a comment down below and share your own experience so that we can learn from each other along the way.
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