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First it was radio, then it was television and now the warnings are here about the negative consequences of too much time spent on smartphones and all the other digital devices towhich we’ve grown so attached. In most workplaces and homes today smartphones and other digital devices are considered an appendage. Statistics suggest that on average people spend 1.7 hours a day social networking, and check their phones some 46 times a day. There can sometimes be so much incoming information —emails, instant messages, social-media notifications—that people struggle to recall which medium the information came on; Facebook, twitter, whatsapp etc. Obviously though technology is here to stay. It makes life easier, more fun and more social—but is it affecting our wellbeing and should there be self imposed limits?

According to Dr. Paul Atchley, a cognitive psychologist at Kansas University “We’reinherently social organisms, and there is almost nothing more compelling than social information which activates part of your brain’s reward system”. Unfortunately, our brain is also wired to pay attention to, and get excited about novel sights and sounds such as a buzz, beep or flashing light. So not only does our brain like new social information, it also is designed to pull our focus away from other tasks, such as writing that board report, to attend to the buzz, ding and ping from our phone.

And while you may think you can quickly check a text or email and pick up that task whereyou left off, you really can’t. “Every time you switch your focus from one thing to another, there’s something called a switch-cost,” says Dr. Earl Miller, a professor of neuroscience atMassachusetts Institute of Technology. “Your brain stumbles a bit, and it requires time to get back to where it was before it was distracted.” One recent study found it can take your brain 15 to 25 minutes to get back to where it was after stopping to check an email. So for those that feel that they absolutely cannot disconnect at work, consider that technology can make us less effective workers. You’re not able to think as deeply on something when you’re beingdistracted every few minutes, and thinking deeply is where real insights come from.

“Every time you switch your focus from one thing to another, there’s something called a switch-cost. Your brain stumbles a bit, and it requires time to get back to where it was before it was distracted.”

“Do we want to live an ‘i’ life or a real life? How many of us sit on the couch at night, start scrolling through Facebook updates, and suddenly it’s two hours later; where does the Internet time go?When we’re overly immersed in social media and Googleland, we’re missing out on realconversations, thinking deeply and creatively, being present in the moment and engaging in meaningful activities. In addition, your productivity at work will be much better quality and quantityif you’re not always switching between email and your work.

The result is that disconnecting has become a mental-health must do and ironically there are a number of apps that help us to digitally detox and to create a mechanism by which we can‘disconnect to reconnect’ with real life as opposed to an ‘i’ life.