THE secret to health and happiness lies in the palm of your hand.
Yes, it's your mobile phone - but the key to wellbeing is switching it off (sort of).
US researchers asked 467 participants to install an app called Freedom that blocked all of their mobile internet access for two weeks and found that those who did it (only a quarter actually managed) reported a significant boost to mental health, focus and wellbeing.
Participants could still access the internet on their computers at work, home or school, so they weren't completely cut off.
But this one small change produced notable results - almost three-quarters of participants (71%) reported better mental health, and in terms of attention span, researchers noted the move seemed to reverse 10 years of cognitive decline related toageing.
"Smartphones have drastically changed our lives and behaviours over the past 15 years, but our basic human psychology remains the same," said Professor Adrian Ward, from the University of Texas McCombs School of Business and lead study author.
"Our big question was, are we adapted to deal with constant connection to everything all the time, and the data suggest that we are not."
If you want to try it for yourself, you can subscribe to Freedom - or do it for free by turning off your mobile data.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 25 Feb 25
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