May 6, 2022 -- Taking a weeklong break from social media can lower feelings of anxiety and depression, according to a new study published in the journal Cyber-psychology, Behavior and Social Networking.
People who stopped using platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for seven days reported an increased sense of well-being, and some said they freed up about nine hours in their week that they would have spent scrolling.
"Scrolling social media is so ubiquitous that many of us do it almost without thinking from the moment we wake up to when we close our eyes at night," Jeff Lambert, the lead study author and a health and exercise psychologist at the University of Bath, said in a statement.
“We know that social media usage is huge and that there are increasing concerns about its mental health effects,” he said. “We wanted to see whether simply asking people to take a week’s break could yield mental health benefits.”
Lambert and colleagues divided 154 participants between ages 18-72 who use social media daily into two groups — one where they were asked to stop using all social media for a week and one where they could continue scrolling as usual. At the beginning of the study, baseline scores for anxiety, depression, and well-being were taken. Before the study began, participants reported spending an average of eight hours per week on social media.
One week later, participants who took a break had significant improvements in their anxiety, depression, and well-being scores than those who continued to use social media as usual. In addition, those who took a one-week break reported using social media for an average of 21 minutes, compared to an average of seven hours for the control group.
Participants who took a break were more likely to agree with well-being statements such as “I’ve been feeling optimistic about the future” and “I’ve been thinking clearly.” They were also less likely to feel nervous, worried, or report depressive symptoms.
“Many of our participants reported positive effects from being off social media, with improved mood and less anxiety overall,” Lambert said. “This suggests that even just a small break can have an impact.”
The research team now plans to study whether other groups can benefit from taking a short break from social media, including younger people and those with physical and mental health conditions. The group also wants to follow people for longer than a week to measure whether the benefits last over time.
If results last, study authors wrote, a social media break could be prescribed as an available option for managing mental health.
Also, reducing intake following food can help in reducing anxiety.
Fruit Juice: The fiber in whole fruit fills you up and slows down how your blood takes in energy. Without that fiber, you’re just drinking nutritious sugar-water that can quickly hype you up -- and bring you down just as fast. That can leave you hungry and angry -- “hangry.” That won't help anxiety and depression. Eat your fruit whole. When you’re thirsty, drink water.
Regular Soda: There's no win for you here: It has all the blood-spiking sugar of fruit juice with none of the nutrition. Sugar-sweetened drinks like soda have a direct link to depression, too. If you crave a pop, try seltzer water with a splash of juice instead. It'll give you a bubbly fix without too much of the stuff you don't need.
Diet Soda: No sugar, so no problem, right? Not exactly. You may not have the energy crash that comes with having too much sugar, but diet soda may make you depressed. In fact, it could make you feel more down than its sugary cousin would. Too much of the caffeine that many sodas have can be bad for anxiety, too.
Toast: Wait, toast?! If it's made from white bread, yes. The highly processed white flour it's made from quickly turns to blood sugar after you eat it. That can cause energy spikes and crashes that can be bad for anxiety and depression. You can have your toast -- and eat it, too. Just use whole-grain bread.
‘Light’ Dressing: You might know to avoid some pre-packaged dressings and marinades loaded with sugar, often listed as “high-fructose corn syrup.” But what about “light” or “sugar-free” dressings? Many get their sweetness from aspartame, an artificial sweetener linked to anxiety and depression. Check the ingredients or, better yet, make your dressing at home from scratch.
You must be logged in to post a comment.