Picture this. It’s been a long day. You woke up early to get in a morning workout, spent your entire day running back and forth from class to the library, agreed to go to dinner with your friends because it’s one of the last for the semester, and stayed up later than expected studying for finals. Balancing a college schedule is stressful, hard, and sometimes simply impossible. I think we would all be willing to hear about, if not implement small things into our daily life that would ease some of our stress.
One of the biggest stressors – whether we want to admit it or not – is our presence on social media. We check our phones countless times an hour and tend to get anxious when we haven’t been on our phones for a while. We start the day with a big Instagram scroll and end our day sending final snapchats to all thirty of our “best friends.” But come on. This is no way to live. It’s time to cut out the morning scroll and the nighttime snaps.
Here are five reasons why you should get off your phone in the morning and at night, as well as alternative activities you might want to give a try!
- Using a phone/tablet/technology before bed increases your alertness. That is the exact opposite thing you want to have happen while you are trying to fall asleep.
- The blue light emitted by our phone screens interferes with the production melatonin, the sleep hormone (The Hits). Being on our phones before bed inhibits us to naturally start to feel tired. An alternative is to use “blue light” glasses while using technology in the evening. Check out Baxter Blue and Amazon for some cute options.
- Read a book before you go to bed. Reading before bed reduces stress levels by 68 per cent (Dreams). Rather than ending your productive day by comparing yourself to your “friends’” highlight reel, get into a fun novel and enjoy feeling less stressed.
- Similar to number 2, rather than starting your day off by comparing yourself to others and diminishing your self-esteem, try repeating positive affirmations. By actually speaking these affirmations allowed, you will start to believe what you are saying. There is not a more empowering and motivating way to start your day. Some great positive affirmations can be found here (https://www.pinterest.com/nansclark/positive-affirmations/?lp=true).
- Journal! It could be as simple as writing down what you did that day, one thing that brought you joy, something that has been bothering you or has been on your mind. This is not only a great way to wind down, but it is an effective self-help technique during stressful times. You can even find “one line a day” journals that are super fun to look back at. Some cute journals can be found here (https://www.anthropologie.com/books-stationary-journals).