#techfreezone

[bumptobebe-blog]

And it’s back to reality with a bump! Family time has been amazing, we have enjoyed two glorious weeks of uninterrupted quality time together. The sun has been shining, the views stunni…

[bumptobebe-blog]

I am having some quality time away with my little Bebe family. We are in a signal dead zone and we are enjoying our family time almost technology free – who knew we really wouldn’…

[hopes1108-blog]

Hashtag TATO❤️

Huge groundbreaking revelation for me today. I have been getting sick a lot. I mean a lot this winter. Friends, family and the doc say it could be from patient contact daily in their home environments, or even from not bundling up in the brutally cold weather outside. But there was something in me that this is not sitting well with. Because the truth is I don’t believe it. My patients are elderly with weak immune systems and frankly I am more at risk to them then they are to me. Not bundling up or not blow drying my hair right away? Seems like myths to me… Hmm so I began examining my daily patterns and what I could be spending a lot of time doing that was unhealthy. Bingo. I got it. Technology. I have been spending several hours a day checking my phone, responding to emails, typing up client reports on my tablet given to me by work, browsing on my iPad, driving with the radio turnt up and watching tv. I knew technology could affect mental health, but could it be physically impacting me? As an occupational therapist, we study sensory integration in great detail. I began digging into my knowledge of sensory skills and how we perceive, process and interpret the stimuli received by our senses. I knew I wasn’t organically interacting as strongly as I could with my environment. Instead, I was letting technology signals control me. Constantly keeping me on and engaged, even when I wanted to turn off. But how would these signals make me physically ill? Suffer from a weakened immune system? Well it was draining my ability and diminishing the natural use my senses with my environment. I wasn’t making those connections as strongly as I could because a part of my brain was constantly on and wired to technology like my phone that was glued to my butt. Not to mention the germs on our devices. I mean c'mon how often do YOU wipe everything down? My one friend expressed how she turned completely off for two hours daily in the evening and how much sticking to this routine impacting her health in a positive way. We need to retrain our brains that we can and are allowed to turn off, for our own sanity. It is not healthy for neurons and chemicals to constantly be firing. Anyways I am going to start my own signal with friends and hopefully they can relate, doing the same from time to time. Turning all technology off. Hashtag TATO❤️ Here are some tips (that I also will be making a conscious effort to follow as well): 1) No phone zone one hour after waking up, and one hour before bed. Read, meditate, enjoy a cup of coffee. Spend time with yourself in a natural environment doing things that are meaningful, enjoyable and calming to your system. 2) Keep notification sounds off and make it habit to check your devices at certain times throughout the time. The constant sound is feeding into brain activity and draining you even though you may not realize it. 3) Start by taking one or two apps off your phone (i.e. Facebook or Tinder). This doesn’t mean you need to disconnect completely from social media. You can keep your accounts and check them intermittently when logged on from your laptop during the day so you don’t have fomo. 4) Keep laptops, phones, iPads, tvs out of the bedroom! Your bedroom should be a calm environment where you naturally can turn off. The lights from these devices and just their presence may stimulate your brain to stay on, so best to keep them out of sight and your rest space completely. 5) Turn all technology off! Communicate with your friends when you need to turn off throughout the day. And don’t feel guilty about it! #TATO Xoxo Asha