6 phone setting hacks to support your mental health
Change your phone settings, change your life.
Our mobile devices buzz and flash all day with the sounds of phone calls, messages and app notifications. But how much is too much? You don’t need to give up on your precious phone to maintain your serenity. Here are a few phone setting hacks you do to help maintain a more peaceful state of mind.
1. Reduce your push notifications
Every day most of us get a load of notifications that aren’t necessarily important. How many of us have suddenly found ourselves scrolling through our news feeds without remembering why we picked up our phone?
Yes, some of these will be very hard to switch off — I’m still working on giving up all Twitter notifications. But be strong! Ask yourself — can this wait? If so, turn off your notifications for specific apps.
This will give you much more peace and focus. Don’t worry, those addictive little red bubbles will still be there when you unlock your phone.
2. Check your location settings
The GPS and Bluetooth functionality on your phones allow apps with Location Services permission to track your location. This can increase the number of notifications you may get depending on where you happen to be.
To get your notifications under control, go through your location settings and turn off Location Services for any apps you think don’t need access.
3. Use Do Not Disturb
Do Not Disturb mode silences most calls, and notifications, but it doesn’t stop your Wi-Fi and mobile connectivity. You can still surf the net, make calls and send texts while getting a bit of peace and quiet. You can set it to allow calls from emergency contacts, and silence everything else.
4. Banish the blue light and sleep better
Your quality of sleep can play a massive part in your overall health, but particularly your mental health. Within a few days of little or no sleep, we can all start feeling anxious and stressed.
The blue light emitted by mobile screens can lower the production of melatonin — a hormone that controls our sleeping and waking cycle, also known as Circadian Rhythm, and using our phones right before bed can disrupt it.
Thankfully, most mobile phones have an option to shift the colour blue more towards red to help lower this effect. On iOS devices, this feature is called Night Shift, while on Android it is called Night Mode. Turn it on to give your eyes and brain a bit of a break.
5. Change your alarm sound and name
There’s a big difference between waking up to a calming angel on a harp and the sound of a car backfiring.
There’s no need to start your day with a heart attack. Start your day in a calm state of mind by changing your alarm tone.
For an extra boost, name your alarm something motivational like “You are beautiful” so that the first message you see on your phone in the morning gives you some positive reinforcement.
6. Unsubscribe, mute and unfollow
Our environment, society and our close relationships play a huge part in how we experience the world, and how we feel about ourselves. The same can be said for the digital world.
Try to reflect on who and what you are following. Try not to follow pages or people who make you feel bad or down.
Ask yourself — do I really want to see these posts every day in my feed? Or, what purpose do these posts or accounts serve me? If there’s none, it’s a good idea to unfollow or mute them. You can always check them manually from time to time. You can also unsubscribe from emails that make you feel bad or trash the ones you don’t need. If in doubt, listen to your body.
Do what works for you — everybody is different. What works for me won’t necessarily work for you. But we should all be mindful about how we use technology and its effect on our mental health.
If your phone settings aren’t working for you, change them. Your brain may thank you for it.
All information published in this article is provided for general education and information only and isn’t intended to replace expert medical advice from a registered healthcare professional. While all information is published with due care and diligence, the content remains subject to further research and may reflect differing matters of opinion. Belong does not accept any liability for any error or omission, injury, expense, loss or damage incurred by any person as a result of using this website or relying on any information published on this website.
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