More people are using digital devices than ever before. Smartphone use alone is at an all-time high, with 87% of Americans owning one. And worldwide, people spend an average of seven hours daily looking at screens. That’s nearly a full-hour increase compared to 2013. However, although undeniably useful for everything from communication and school to work and entertainment, digital devices also come with disadvantages.
Arguably, the most concerning drawback of gadget use is its negative health impact. Physically, overuse can establish a sedentary lifestyle that causes a number of issues like obesity. It can also strain your eyes, neck, and back. Mentally, it can cause you to isolate yourself, affecting your relationships and social skills. Being chronically online means you may also be prone to habits like doom-scrolling that can cause depression and anxiety.
Though these health effects are preventable through methods like digital detoxes and setting boundaries for device use, these strategies are easier said than done. That’s why you may want to use a few tools to help you establish healthier digital habits.
Digital wellbeing apps
ActionDash
To effectively control your screen time, it helps to determine what apps you use the most frequently and how much time you spend on them. That’s where ActionDash helps by providing statistics on these exact details. It then gives you the option to lock access to your most-used apps at certain times of the day. That can be especially handy at night, when 70% or more of both kids and adults use gadgets—despite how doing so even an hour or two before bed can stimulate the brain and make it more challenging to fall asleep. You may thus find ActionDash useful for locking your favorite apps by that time so it’s easier for you to get some quality shuteye.
Forest
If you’re looking to try a digital detox—which essentially involves completely avoiding gadget use for a certain amount of time—Forest can help. It gamifies the process by asking you to set a timer for your detox. Once your time’s up, you get to plant a tree in your own digital forest. If you use your phone before the timer ends, the tree dies. It’s a fun way to help you stick to your detox goals!
Blue light protection tools
SightRelax
Gadget screens are an artificial source of blue light. Overexposure to certain wavelengths of this light can cause visual discomfort and lead to digital eye strain, especially if you spend two or more consecutive hours of screen time a day. Symptoms include itchiness and even pain. If you’re one of the 2 out of every 3 Americans who experience them, you may thus want to buy glasses that provide digital protection. One of the best options is blue light glasses with SightRelax lenses. These specialized lenses from Eyebuydirect are specifically designed to prevent digital eye strain: they filter out High Energy Visible or HEV blue light at 400-455nm, which the 2018 study Research Progress About the Effect and Prevention of Blue Light on Eyes finds can irreversibly damage your retina. They also block out reflections and glare for maximum comfort while using digital devices.
Ocushield blue light screen protector
Another effective way to reduce blue light exposure is to stop it at the source. That’s where dedicated blue light screen protectors can help: they go over your smartphone or computer screen to block the blue light they emit. Ocushield’s blue light screen protector is designed by optometrists and is one of the best in the game. It’s FDA- and MHRA-approved to block blue light, making it one of the only medically recommended protectors on the market. What’s more, it can fit over a variety of devices, so you can use it for pretty much all of the gadgets you own.
Ergonomic furniture and accessories
Branch Ergonomic Chair
If you use gadgets in the wrong position, you’re straining your body and can hurt yourself in the long run. In the IT industry alone, 60% of professionals end up getting repetitive strain injury that lowers their productivity and overall quality of life. You may experience similar conditions if, like these professionals, you work on computers for eight or more hours a day. Ergonomics will play a big role in preventing the health impacts of digital device use by ensuring you’re sitting and looking at your screen in a way that minimizes neck and back strain.
That’s why we recommend you use chairs that provide lumbar support and a headrest, especially for activities like gaming. The Branch Ergonomic Chair offers just that. It’s extremely adjustable, with seven points you can tweak—higher than the industry average. That means you can easily place it at the best height and back position possible to prevent strain while looking at a screen. It also comes with a soft seat bed and lumbar support for additional comfort while you work. In line with a 2012 study published in the journal BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, it thus has all the features a chair needs to prevent symptoms of musculoskeletal injuries—especially if you need to sit down and use your computer for longer.
Herman Miller Ollin
Chair height shouldn’t be the only thing you should adjust to prevent eye and neck strain—monitor height matters, too. Your screen needs to be at eye level to avoid aches and pains, and a monitor arm will help you achieve that. You may thus want to try the Ollin from furniture and design industry leader Herman Miller. Like the Branch Ergonomic Chair, it’s adjustable, so you can place your screen wherever you want to promote better posture. And it’s compatible with laptops, too!