The Case for a New Alarm Clock

My eyes flutter open to the raucous sound of my alarm and it takes me a moment to register the noise, to pull myself out of deep sleep. As soon as I realize what I’m actually hearing, I thrust my body as fast as I can to my cell phone to shut off the irritating noise. Every single morning, what is the first thing that I do? I reach for my cell phone to shut off my alarm. As a result, this action draws me to the inevitable social media scroll within moments of waking.

I squint my eyes at the screen, still adjusting to the morning light, and habitually, my thumb hovers over my social media apps. My screen instantly flashes to what Jane did last night…, she looks like she had so much fun, and, wow, I wish I looked like her, and I wonder why I wasn’t invited?

I toggle between apps, and now, instead of comparing myself to the lives of others, I’m being bombarded by all kinds of news stories, and unfortunately, most of them are gravely depressing. Climate change, school shootings, horrific tweets from our POTUS, you get the idea. Within the first 5 minutes of waking up, I’ve already compared myself to another person’s life, I’ve already wished that I looked different, I’ve already questioned my own social standing, and I’ve already been inundated with intense news stories. Depressing, right?

While impressive technological advancements have played a key role in the development of humankind, our obsessive use is simultaneously wreaking havoc on our health. When I say health, I mean whole-body, all-encompassing, health; the physical, mental, and emotional. It’s all connected, and our devices, whether we know it or not, are negatively impacting these areas of our well-being.

The average adult checks their phone once every 13 minutes (that’s over 100 times per day!), and the average child in America (ages 8–18) looks at a screen for approximately seven hours each day.[1] Children and adolescents that use their phones with excess are more likely to develop mental health disorders.[2] When we’re without our phones, 73% of people report experiencing anxiety, or perhaps, withdrawal.[3] Even worse, a study shows that when the phone rings, but we are unable to answer, our blood pressure spikes, our heart rate increases, and we become highly anxious.[4] Sound familiar?

But it’s not entirely our fault. Technology and social media companies have successfully targeted our brain’s reward system to make us addicted to our devices. Neuroscientists have revealed that social media notifications, such as likes on Instagram, or Facebook updates, new emails and texts, trigger pleasure receptors in your brain. This means that dopamine (which is your body’s “happy” hormone) is released, just as it would be if you were drinking alcohol, taking drugs, eating cake, exercising, or falling in love. So, if we get these same rushes of dopamine from our cell phones, why would we ever put them down?

Functional Medicine Doctor, Frank Lipman, argues that we need to significantly slash our use of technology because,

“Nonstop access to social media, news feeds, and constant streams of information dissolves the boundaries that keep us balanced and healthy. Being incessantly clicked-in disrupts our ability to make and maintain genuine human connections, get deep and adequate sleep each night, and feel content with our own lives. We feel obligated to keep up, to show up, and to check-in, voraciously consuming photos and videos of the perfectly curated lives of others instead of living fully in our own realities.” (pg 187)

Social media is linked to heightened levels of depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, inability to focus, and further, it is contributing to a new epidemic of isolation and loneliness.[5] Today, it is a lot easier to stay home and stream movies or television shows, to scroll Instagram, or to interact with people over an app than it is to go out and meet people. Americans report that they don’t feel fulfilled and supported in their friendships, and an even more staggering fact is that 43% of Americans report that they feel lonely.[6] More and more adults find themselves living alone making it difficult to find a supportive community. This has profound implications on our health. The Health Resources and Service Administration claims that loneliness and social isolation can be as detrimental as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.[7] Further, Dr. Frank Lipman writes, “Genuine and lasting friendships are a key part of a fulfilling life, shown to improve health and increase longevity by boosting optimism and connection. Trusting that someone has your back in good times and bad actually helps you live longer.” [8]

A study out of the University of Pennsylvania discovered that there is a causal link between social media use and negative well-being. 143 students from UPenn were randomly assigned to groups, one that would use social media as they normally would, and one that would limit use for up to 30 minutes per day. The study concludes that, “The limited use group showed significant reductions in loneliness and depression over three weeks compared to the control group.”[9]

Not only are we more depressed and anxious through our social media consumption, but we are also experiencing physiological effects. These effects are what Dr. Frank Lipman calls “Tech Injuries.” Our unconscious habits are compromising our posture, as we hunch over our computers in a forward slump, or are looking down at our phones and hurting our necks. We remain in this forward slump over our keyboards for hours, repeatedly, which can pull your spine out of alignment, creating back pain. Sitting in this hunched position, you will also have limited oxygen flow (which in turn leads to low energy and brain fog). When staring down at our phones, our necks jut out forward while we look down, squinting at our devices. We are chronically in this position, which can cause tension headaches, migraines, and all kinds of musculoskeletal problems.[10] So try a standing desk when using your computer, or actively checking your posture when using devices to avoid unnecessary injuries.

Another area that suffers from our sustained technology use is our sleep. With the surplus of devices and screens that surround us, we can’t escape the low-quality, artificial light. Dr Frank Lipman writes, “there’s been a tenfold increase in the amount of artificial light used per capita in the last fifty years, and that nights are bright in a way that, quite frankly, confounds our biology.” Further, he explains that “Tempering your exposure to light at night, and ensuring a state of true dark when you sleep, is a crucial step in restoring rhythms and ensuring sleep wellness.”[11] Constant exposure to the blue light emitted from our devices is linked to heightened levels of obesity, depression, sleep disorders, diabetes, and breast cancer. Try to limit use of technology and lights an hour prior to going to sleep, or even better, leave technology out of your bedroom all-together. And definitely no checking your phone in the middle of the night.

How can we make a conscious effort to limit our cell phone use?

1. Put your phone away during meals, and instead, use this time to connect with friends and family, while also being more mindful in the way that you eat.
2. Turn off or silence notifications, so that you are less likely to check your phone.
3. Experiment with a social media detox. Try deleting a social app from your phone for at least one day, and you’ll build awareness and pick up on subconcious habits.
4. Wind down before bedtime by reading or journaling to enhance sleep health and to limit blue-light exposure.
5. Try going for walks or leaving your home without your phone. Notice how this feels.

[1]Frank Lipman MD. How to Be Well: The 6 Keys to a Happy and Healthy Life. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019. pp. 187

[2]Twenge, Jean M., et al. “Increases in Depressive Symptoms, Suicide-Related Outcomes, and Suicide Rates Among U.S. Adolescents After 2010 and Links to Increased New Media Screen Time.” Clinical Psychological Science, vol. 6, no. 1, Jan. 2018, pp. 3–17. SAGE Journals,

[3]“Dopamine, Smartphones & You: A Battle for Your Time.” Science in the News, 1 May 2018, http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2018/dopamine-smartphones-battle-time/.

[4]Clayton, Russell B., et al. “The Extended ISelf: The Impact of IPhone Separation on Cognition, Emotion, and Physiology.” Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, vol. 20, no. 2, 2015, pp. 119–35. Wiley Online Library, doi:10.1111/jcc4.12109.

[5] “Social Media Increases Depression and Loneliness.” Healthline, https://www.healthline.com/health-news/social-media-use-increases-depression-and-loneliness. Accessed 3 Dec. 2019.

[6]“Loneliness: A New Epidemic in the USA.” Psychology Today, https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/envy/201902/loneliness-new-epidemic-in-the-usa.

Accessed 3 Dec. 2019.

[7]The “Loneliness Epidemic.” 10 Jan. 2019, https://www.hrsa.gov/enews/past-issues/2019/january-17/loneliness-epidemic.

[8]Frank Lipman MD. pp 230.

[9] Hunt, Melissa G., et al. “No More FOMO: Limiting Social Media Decreases Loneliness and Depression.” Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, vol. 37, no. 10, Nov. 2018, pp. 751–68. guilfordjournals.com (Atypon), doi:10.1521/jscp.2018.37.10.751.

[10] Frank Lipman MD. pp.128.

[11] Frank Lipman MD. pp. 102