Did you know that the average American spends more than 4 hours a day on his "smartphone"? Eve Rodsky, journalist, tells how our unbridled screen time is causing us to release excessive amounts of dopamine throughout the day, which intuitively is making us all super desperate and anxious.

So, if you feel part of this vicious cycle, put yourself in a moderate digital detox.

The challenge is simple:

First, check your time in front of the screen. See how much time you spend on the phone each day.

Second, reduce this time gradually until you bring it to less than an hour a day.

Finally, reflect on how this detox has changed your life.

1. Causes and culprits

The first thing you need to do when trying to reduce your time in front of the screen is to take a good look at your current habits.

Analyze your screen time to see which apps are taking up the most time. Then, think about why you are spending that time on your applications instead of making potentially more fruitful or healthy endeavors.

2. Announcements

An easy way to start disconnecting from your phone is to turn off your notifications. Announcements are designed to release dopamine and keep you glued.

When you turn them off, you check your phone whenever you want and not when a new notification comes to you, however useless and trivial it may be.

3. Delete applications

Becoming more extreme, your next option is to delete applications altogether. Delete any applications that you can control from your computer that are not 100% required.

4. There is an application for this

Another way to drastically reduce screen time is to use apps that can block you from accessing apps that are stealing your time. An example: Opal.

Source: Psychology Today