Discover the significant benefits of unplugging from the digital world to reconnect with yourself, improve mental and physical health, reduce stress, and foster real connections with the world around you. Through personal anecdotes, like a notable blackout in San Diego, and insights from experts like Sherry Turkle and Thich Nhat Hanh, this discussion reaches into the omnipresence of technology, recognizing its benefits and drawbacks, and emphasizes the need for intentional periods of disconnection. Dr. Wendy Bazilian provides practical strategies for finding digital respite, such as silent walking, establishing 'digital sunsets,' tech-free commutes, and micro-meditation moments to help you find balance in the digital world. 

FROM THE EPISODE: 

We don’t need to completely disconnect from technology, but finding moments of respite within our 1,000 waking minutes can truly recharge us.

WE DISCUSS:

(01:13) How technology permeates our waking minutes and the importance of unplugging

(06:07) Exploring modern trends in unplugging

(07:50) The 2011 San Diego blackout experience

(17:59) ROI of unplugging: The mental and physical benefits

(24:30) Silent walking: A mindful practice and why it's gaining popularity

(25:20) The impact of technology on relationships

(27:02) Physical strain from tech use

(28:05) Gaining time by unplugging

(29:09) Mindful minute to unplug, breathe, and reconnect with yourself

(33:25) Practical tips for balancing tech and life: Try digital sunsets, silent walks, and time boundaries

(42:10) The importance of reading aloud

(45:51) A question to ponder and reflect on

(46:25) Closing remarks and gratitude to my team and you!

CONNECT WITH WENDY:

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Visit my website: wendybazilian.com

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Thank you for tuning in to 1,000 Waking Minutes and being part of this journey–together. A huge thank you to our amazing collaborators, A huge thank you to our amazing collaborators including our production and marketing teams and Gabriela Escalante in particular. To the ultra-talented Beza for my theme music, my lifelong friend and artist Pearl Preis Photography and Design, to Danielle Ballantyne, Jen Nguyen, Joanna Powell, and of course, my family and everyone working tirelessly behind the scenes.

Health Disclaimer: The information shared in this podcast is for educational purposes only and should not be considered individual medical or health advice. Always consult with your trusted healthcare provider before making any changes to your diet, exercise, or medical treatment.

Why is unplugging such a

big deal?

What are the ROIs or

returns on investment for your

health?

We experience 1,000 Waking Minutes

on average every day.

How are you spending yours?

I'm Dr. Wendy Bazilian and

you're listening to 1,000 waking

minutes.

I can't wait to connect

with you here with practical

ways to eat well, move

daily and be healthy, to

optimize every waking minute you

live for a happier, healthier

life.

Thank you for sharing some

of your waking minutes with

me today.

Let's get started.

I'm saying yes to better

days, yes, I'm on my

way, yes, it's gonna be

okay, yeah.

Hello and welcome to 1,000

waking minutes.

I'm Dr. Wendy Bazilian and

today we're talking about something

we all need more of

and that's unplugging.

How can we truly disconnect

from the digital world to

reconnect with ourselves?

Where would we be without

technology?

The digital age has certainly

changed our lives for the

better in countless ways, powering

scientific breakthroughs, providing news about

the weather with increasing accuracy,

a virtual library at our

fingertips, just think about the

Encyclopedia Britannica for those of

you who may have had

one of those across your

bookshelves as a child.

Recently with the pandemic, it

helped immensely, not only allowing

us to bring our offices

home for good and for

bad on some occasions, but

to continue to be productive,

to provide the opportunity for

us to order what we

needed and have it delivered,

for us to be able

to keep separation, but also

maintain connection.

It really was a lifeline

of sorts to maintaining personal

engagement over digital space so

that we could smile at

our loved ones and share

time together through digital connection.

It really was our entertainment.

We would visit the live

zoo cams with my daughter

who was a toddler at

the time and watch older

productions of theater or symphony

and be able to feel

sort of like we were

transformed into the audience.

It certainly allowed us to

shop more safely during that

time.

Unfortunately, however, when it comes

to our health, there's a

dark side to all these

glowing screens.

As we spend more and

more of our lives online,

tech is becoming increasingly everywhere.

It's omnipresent, even our smart

homes.

So when I talk about

unplugging today, we have to

take this a little bit

with a grain of salt

because it may not be

100% possible in some

instances and environments.

It infuses virtually every moment.

What I hope to address

today is how within our

1,000 Waking Minutes on

a daily basis, we can

take some moments of respite.

How can we handle this

relatively still new in the

scheme of human evolution of

having so much technology literally

at our fingertips and in

our palms?

This is not a big

elephant in the room anymore.

Technology is part of the

fabric.

We engage it.

We've come to rely on

it.

We're forced to use it

on some occasions, literally forced.

There have been instances, and

I'm sure you have instances

and occasions as well, where

there was no other way.

There was no printed map

to get you where you

needed to go.

In many cases, I hope

also to enjoy what the

digital world has brought to

us.

But there's no question that

it's overwhelming, and we could

all benefit from some time

to unplug.

That's where this fits squarely

within our 1,000 waking

minutes.

You don't have to take

a one-week retreat that

is completely off the grid

without reception to be forced

into this.

There are ways in a

life to have connection, but

not digital connection for a

spell.

So I'm talking about today

thinking of ways on a

day-to-day basis to

disconnect with the digital and

reconnect with life and indeed

with ourselves, which of course

can be meaningful and cumulative

from week to week on

our overall well-being.

So in fact, I'm trying

to establish what are the

rules of...

The book I've wanted to

write for a good 10

years, I have notes on

this from 10 years ago

at least, is "The Rules

of Disengagement."

So I'm working toward that.

We'll see if that comes

about, and I may still

ahead.

But when I started really

thinking about this, it was

because I became confused about

the push-pull, the attraction

of it, the ease of

life that happened with digital

living and tech, but that

it was creeping in, and

then it was pushing in,

and then it was taking

over parts of my life

and impacting my thinking, and

that engaging in real life

as human beings, always knowing

that that's so critical, and

how does that fit within

our digital life?

I have to mention the

irony is not lost on

me:

Here we are, you and

I connected by this podcast,

and I'm probably streaming through

your phone or some other

digital device.

So I'm aware that right

now we're all plugged in.

So much of what we

do is dependent on being

connected, and that's just it.

So maybe we can keep

our focus on the connection

part of staying connected.

We can't escape the tech

that surrounds us, even though

we need to take breaks.

So today we're going to

explore what happens when we

intentionally step away from that.

There's some TikTok trends going

around right now.

Some of them make me

chuckle a little bit.

Some of them make me

a little ornery, to be

honest.

But the fun one, the

one that makes me chuckle,

is silent walking, ...to more

extreme, the one that makes

me ornery.

But I like some aspects

of it is called raw

dogging flights.

And no, it's not as

wild as it sounds, although

I don't love the term.

I didn't invent it, so

I'm going with it.

But people searching for ways

to disconnect and find some

quiet.

It's sort of the modern

take, I suppose, on things

that have been happening for

centuries, especially the silent walking,

which has traditions in virtually

every spiritual practice, but in

particular with Zen Buddhism.

Unplugging is not a new

idea.

We've been doing it in

one way or another, like

I said, for centuries.

It's just that right now

with technology, it's harder to

do the unplugging, and it's

a little harder to achieve.

I'm thinking of a conference

I attended recently.

The only way of knowing

what was going on was

on an app.

I did finally find a

printed conference agenda, but still

to find where I was

going, it took Herculean efforts

to not use the digital

maps and the GPS within

the convention center, and why

wouldn't I?

Even on a recent Disney

vacation, I called the Disney

travelers.

I said, do you have

one of those old-school

maps of the Magic Kingdom?

And they said, "oh, well,

if you really want to

be productive in Disney World,

we highly recommend the app.

That's the only way you

can engage in X, Y,

Z."

On vacation, I was trying

to unplug and the fantasy

of doing it the old

way.

So I want to bring

us back in time for

a moment to 2011.

I remembered the year, but

I had to rely on

my 'digital friend' to search

when exactly the date was,

and it was September 8th,

2011 here in San Diego.

We were living up in

Escondido, California.

It was a very hot

afternoon, but it was a

beautiful day.

And without any warning, we lost

power, and it just seemed

strange.

We lost cell phone reception.

We lost everything, and there

was no storm coming.

I'm always on slightly heightened

alert in September.

It was approaching September 11th.

It was just 2011.

It was just 10 years

after 9-11, and it

seemed odd.

I had a plug-in

telephone that was tucked away

actually in a cabinet because

we had gone fully to

cell phones at that point,

but pretty newly we had

gone to cell phones as

our only source of communication.

And it was through plugging

in and actually calling back

east to some friends and

family to try to figure

out what was happening.

It turned out that there

was a massive blackout, a

sweeping, cascading blackout in Southern

California that day, and it

lasted for 12 hours.

It was in parts of

Arizona.

It was in Baja, California,

and it affected 7 million

individuals.

We lost power.

There was widespread disruptions, halted

traffic, grounded flights.

All kinds of things happened.

Some areas lost running water.

It became concerning, and we

didn't know what happened until

later.

Turns out it was human

error.

There was some routine maintenance

happening on some transformers or

something actually in Arizona.

The poor person, I think

at the time they actually

tried to blame it on

a specific person.

I don't remember if they

named him or her at

the time, but I thought,

my gosh, let's [the power company] take responsibility

here.

Let's not blame one human

for this.

But my goodness, it was

human error.

But we had modern conveniences

taken away in an instant.

What I recall was that

the day the power went

out in San Diego was

remarkable to me.

If you've ever experienced a

blackout that's caused by weather,

then you sort of know.

You may be anticipating by

getting your flashlights ready or

your candles or your games

out.

But when it came sweeping

across San Diego without notice,

everything just stopped.

Turns out it wasn't just

local, it was everywhere.

And all the comforts and

conveniences, and it was a

hot day.

You know what it did?

It pushed people together.

People came out of their

houses.

After we started to learn

that it was going to

last more than an hour,

two hours, grocery stores hosted

community ice cream gatherings.

The news channels that were

able to convey news and

people were sort of in

their cars plugging in to

recharge their batteries that they

were worried about.

But they were able to

see that there was community

gatherings happening.

People created on the spot

picnics.

They were sort of unloading

their refrigerators a little bit

because there was no sign

of when the power was

going to come back on.

And it was creeping afternoon

into evening toward night.

I remember wondering what was

going to happen.

Our neighbors next door..., we

came out.

There are some neighbors, you

know, as happens in neighborhoods,

there's some neighbors that you

barely ever see or ever

get to know.

That day, we got to

know some of them.

And I thought that the

ice cream socials that were

happening in the grocery stores

were just remarkable, giving it

away for free before it

melted and bringing people, bringing

a smile on their faces.

After that, I started sort

of fantasizing about like, what

if we did that on

purpose one hour a day?

What would it do to

give us some time back?

What would it do for,

you know, selectively putting our

hobbies, you know, on the

calendar and forcing us to

think about time disconnected?

Of course, I recognize that

there are real challenges to

this.

People who need electricity at

all times for medical reasons,

if it's particularly hot, the

impact if you don't have

air conditioning or for seniors,

the things that can become

problematic if there's sweeping outages

without notice.

But then I realized that

this actually does happen in

some parts of the world.

I read about Israel where

sometimes rolling blackouts would occur

and some regions in India

and parts of South Africa

that have planned outages to

manage high energy demand on

the grid during some peak

times.

But it just got me

to thinking about what would

it be like in a

world where we're all forced

to unplug at the same

time and maybe engage and

reconnect with one another.

So today, unplugging, that's the

topic.

And I want to share

some quotes with you that

resonate with me,

and then I'm also challenged

by because I really feel

like this is a push

pull topic.

We want to unplug and

then we go back to

our daily life and the

digital world really is upon

us and it's infused in

everything we do and we

enjoy it.

Some of my friends and

family live at a distance

and digital connection is our

connection.

And I really do feel

like that's real. FaceTime, real

voice calls, conversations, and even

texts that flow with real

full-blown English.

Yes, maybe some emojis thrown

in there.

Those are reality for many

of us, including myself.

And that is digital connectivity.

But when the human is

near you, it [digital devices in hand] can be

detrimental.

When we're looking down instead

of looking in the eyes

of someone, it can be

straining on human interactions, not

just our eyesight.

So the first quote I

want to just share with

you, and these are connected

to today's topic, is by

Sherry Turkle, a renowned psychologist

and author, suggesting and highlighting

that digital connection is so

convenient, but it lacks the

depth, the 3D maybe we

can say of face-to

-face interaction.

And the quote is this,

"We are attempted to think

that our little sips of

online connection add up to

a big gulp of real

conversation, but they don't.

We are sacrificing conversation for

mere connection.

And at the same time,

we are sacrificing real presence

for a thin digital version

of it."

So I think of that

as sort of getting the

2D versus the 3D in

that connection.

And the second quote is

by Thich Nhat Hanh, the

revered mindfulness teacher, spiritual guru

for many, that captures the

importance of presence in life

and speaks to the power

of being fully present with

others and emphasizing attentiveness and

how it nurtures real relationships

and connection.

And he says, "The most

precious gift we can offer

another is our attention.

When mindfulness embraces those we

love, they will bloom like

flowers."

So really putting the connection

first in the connection, whether

it's digital, but preferably on

purpose and in person.

I love these quotes because

it really reminds me, hopefully

us, of the power of

that real human connection.

And it's something we can

lose sight of when we're

scrolling and clicking away and

looking down.

So we think we're connecting,

but it's not the same,

is my point.

And our brains actually respond

differently to it than when

we're truly engaging with a

human.

So when we take time

to unplug, we open ourselves

to a new kind of

connection again.

We're more present, more aware,

more in tune with ourselves.

And silent walks are something

that are taking off.

Silent walk being like just

hitting the road.

It can be in nature,

preferably, or it can be

even on a busy street,

but without your tech in

hand and without conversing with

someone, just being with yourself

on a silent walk.

This is likened to a

'new practice' on TikTok, and

it's really gone viral, which

I think is wonderful.

It's actually something that Zen

Buddhism has taught.

And when I was at

the Destination Spas, we do

silent walks on a regular

basis.

It's a form of walking

meditation.

So rules of disengagement.

In the military, there are

the rules of engagement, some

of you will know.

So the book I want

to write is The Rules

of Disengagement and the Power

of Unplugging.

But the rules of engagement

establish parameters for combat, detailing

the who, the what, the

where, and the when.

In business, there are typically

unwritten rules and sometimes written

set forth on how to

navigate business, the measures that

are acceptable during the course

of negotiations.

And they're unambiguous.

When it comes to disengagement

from technology, a frame up

of the directives is a

good idea as well.

It's just that we haven't

dabbled in this long enough

to really set up the

rules.

Some actually have.

I have a few colleagues

that I'll share a few

notes about who have gotten

better at it.

But because we don't all

have the same rule book,

sometimes it can become a

challenge.

Or sometimes we feel guilty

for not being plugged in

constantly because we don't really

know what or how or

who to inform about this

or how to go about

it to take those breaks.

We're often at a loss

about it without alienating friends,

for example, or worrying our

relatives, myself included.

I get caught up in

that.

Or risking the wrath of

our work colleagues if we

weren't available at the moment

that they were hoping we

would be.

So establishing some ground rules,

the how, we're going to

get back into that a

little bit more in a

bit.

Not the deep, deep dive

on every detail, but we're

going to get into a

little bit of how.

But I think before I

even do that, I want

to share the ROI, the

clear benefits.

We always have a mindful

minute in my episodes, but

I'm going to put that

after the benefits.

I think it's critically important

to either reinforce some things

that you already know and

to tell you some of

the benefits from unplugging.

There's an assessment that you

can do of how you

are digitally engaged and some

benefits from unplugging.

So I'm going to set

you up for that.

Then we'll take a deep

breath, have a mindful minute,

and then I'll go into

some practical tips of how

we can do it today.

So sort of like I

encourage you to do in

the time check in episode

four and evaluating, how do

we already spend our time?

What's the basis?

And we have different kinds

of digital engagement from the

necessary, the things that keep

us functioning at work or

communication, safety, and others.

There's digital connection that's HELPFUL,

things that improve our daily

life like GPS and maps,

even though I still contend

it's very important to learn

to use a map and

know the lay of the

land for real and hopefully

helpful like listening to a

podcast.

There's digital that is PLEASURABLE.

These are things that we

enjoy but could potentially live

without.

Like if you enjoy digital

reading on trips instead of

carrying a lot of books,

but you love to read,

that could be pleasurable.

Or streaming a favorite show

or watching YouTube videos, how

to learn to do something

or playing a game with

someone, that's pleasurable.

And then there's the EXTRA,

where we tend to go

down the rabbit hole.

The extra could be the

mindless scrolling, the unnecessary checking

of emails, so establishing rules

of engagement for that and

disengagement, or just flipping between

apps to see what's going

on.

What I'm going to encourage

us to do is not

to take full-blown digital

detox, even though I'm a

big advocate if you can,

you know, take the time,

make that a priority, a

weekend off, a week off,

a month off, I've heard

people do, but primarily to

focus on the digital tools

that you use most often,

probably your smartphone, also extending

to the computers and our

tablets, our e-readers, our

TV. Think about it, there's

so many of them.

But thinking about how we

use them, how often we

use them, and for what.

And then figuring how we

might be able to consolidate

some of our time on,

like for example, would there

be one time a day

that you could consolidate all

your online shopping or orders?

And then figuring out ways

to unplug and disconnect in

small bits every day.

So why is unplugging such

a big deal?

What are the ROIs or

returns on investment for your

health?

We hear it all the

time to take a break

from our phone, reduce the

screen time, and detox from

the digital world.

So we're going to look

at the mental and physical

health reasons and introduce then

some practical strategies.

Studies have shown that too

much screen time can lead

from everything from eye strain,

to headaches, to anxiety, to

depression or making it worse,

and even memory issues.

In a chapter in a

book that I'm finishing, I

talk about how constant digital

stimulation can affect our brain's

ability to focus, form short

-term memories, and even sleep

well.

The more plugged in we

are, the more it disrupts

our natural rhythms.

A powerful study a few

years back out of the

University of Maryland asked students

to go 24 hours without

any media, no phones, no

computers, no TV.

By the way, the 'raw

dogging' that I mentioned before

is when people travel and

they completely take away all

creature comforts.

They filter themselves down to

just staring straight at a

blank screen.

Some of them go too

far, I think, and don't

hydrate or don't get up

at all, but they take

themselves during the duration of

a flight, and it's become

a mostly 'male-dominant sport'

and mostly competitive, but it's

a form of taking yourself

away from media for the

time period of travel.

So in this study of

students going 24 hours without

any media, their reactions were

fascinating.

Some described it as if

they were going through withdrawal.

Is there any surprise there?

Have you ever felt when

you put it down for

a minute that you're almost

like trying to pick it

up right after just to

check if there was one

more thing you needed to

check before you put down

your phone?

But their response as these

students is almost like they

were addicted.

Some found themselves fidgeting, anxious,

isolated, they described.

One student, and this quote

really struck home, said, "I

felt like a person on

a deserted island."

It's pretty wild to think

that just being away from

a device can have such

a deep psychological impact.

So the scientific support for

this, research shows that unplugging

can improve our mental clarity,

reduce stress, and even boost

our relationships.

Screen time, as I mentioned,

can disrupt memory, certainly our

concentration, I've fallen into that

trap before, and our ability

to form deeper connections, especially

if you're sitting in a

room with other people and

everyone has their phone up.

Taking deliberate breaks, though it

might feel disconcerting, it can

help.

It can help us find

that reconnection.

It can help us resynthesize

some of those brain cells

that are getting scattered and

disconnected.

It can literally 'reboot' - term

intentional.

It can help repair, it

can replenish, it can recharge,

another intentional term there, our

brains and our bodies.

Some of the benefits of

boosting brain power.

When you're constantly checking social

media, our work emails, our

texts, and trying to multitask,

which increasingly people say is

not really a thing.

It's not something we actually

do.

It can be distracting and

it can be exhausting physically.

There's some evidence that it

can inhibit the formation of

short-term memories.

In fact, one University of

Michigan study found that people

who took a walk in

the after learning something new

were more likely to retain

it.

Isn't that good news?

I remember a time when

I was doing my doctoral

research, I was trying to

study for an exam, and

I just went outside for

a walk, and I ended

up walking up and down

this long staircase, up and

down, up and down.

It must've been like an

hour up and down.

Good exercise.

I was aligning behaviors there.

But I remember really being

able to integrate into my

mind the thoughts, and I

didn't even have the papers

there.

I was able to work

it out.

So I feel like I

have a real-life experience

there.

Maybe you do too.

Without downtime from the web,

it's impossible for our brain

to recharge.

Literally, the neurons can't reconnect

and recharge that way.

building better relationships.

Sure, our texts, our tweets,

our video calls are all

wonderful ways, like I said,

to connect to a certain

extent.

But in the absence of

being with real humans, it

can make troubles for our

personal self and the relationships

that we could build.

There's a growing body of

research showing that too much

scrolling and posting and internet

usage can erode relationships and

also inhibit our communication skills.

Increasingly, I'm seeing researchers and

communications experts talk about our

ability to converse with one

another falls short.

Or while we might be

able to interview someone with

some prompts or some specific

interview questions, when it comes

to just then having a

conversation or going further with

it, the people become silent.

The reason for this, some

researchers say it's a lack

of nonverbal clues that body

language gives when we're texting

or communicating in that way.

It's also sort of more

two-dimensional if it's over

words alone.

We all know that we've

had miscommunications by texting because

you can't see the face,

you can't feel the person,

the energy of what's being

shared.

Subtle facial expressions can go

a long way, but they

may be limited when you're

FaceTiming or chatting because of

the screen size, or you

just really aren't in the

presence of that human itself.

And of course, it can

be isolating because you may

be sitting in a vacuum

in a room all by

yourself.

And as you look around,

you're really not with other

human beings, even if you're

communicating on a Zoom chat

or something like that.

So the trick is to

use the technology and also

step away from it.

Another benefit is physical relief.

And this is not just

our brains, by the way.

Physical, constant tech use can

lead to eye strain, neck

pain, and poor posture.

We've all been forced with

it.

I remember I didn't pull

it up for this episode

to share, but there was

some research about potentially a

new bone or a reformation

of our spine because of

how 'tech neck' has evolved

with the youngest generation, how

they're just built to be

craning their neck down.

That sort of scares me.

When we're glued to our

devices, we're not taking breaks,

and we know that the

body's built to move, and

the body's not supposed to

be in one position.

And when you've got that

eight-pound head on your

neck, which is much more

narrow, it can strain if

you start tipping it forward.

The force becomes exponential on

the of gravity going down,

and it can cause real

strain.

Another benefit of unplugging is

helping you gain time.

How often do you pull

out your phone thinking you're

going to just check something

and you get sucked in?

There you go again, down

the rabbit hole.

Oh, I just got to

get back on this text.

Oh, I forgot to order

this thing on Amazon.

Technology that's supposed to make

us more productive can work

in the opposite direction if

we're not being very specific

and efficient.

So you can potentially and

literally gain hours by taking

breaks and also consolidating when

you're going to be doing

certain activities.

What do you do with

that gain time?

Well, things that promote your

health and well-being, of

course.

Hobbies, exercise, rest.

You could actually 'shop your

closet' instead of online.

You can de-stress.

But there's great news.

Unplugging even short periods of

time can reverse a lot

of these effects.

Taking tech breaks can boost

your brain function, reduce stress,

improve our relationships, and help

us regain our time.

So now we're going to

take a little break together.

In every episode, we do

a Mindful Minute.

And this is our time

to step away for a

moment, maybe from what you're

engaged in.

Step away from the noise

and distractions of life and

to practice being present in

the moment and measure a

little bit of our time.

If you're driving, of course,

I always say, or if

you're somewhere where your eyes

have to be open, it's

inappropriate, keep them open.

But if you can, close

your eyes and utilize the

other senses and take in

your environment with your other

senses.

If you're in a quieter

space, of course, that's a

nice thing.

But a lot of us

are existing and I hope

listening in whatever space suits

you at the moment.

Before we begin, I always

set you up for the

exercise so that we can

spend the minute just sort

of being peaceful with a

few cues.

Think about where your phone

or tablet is right now.

Is it nearby?

Is it in your hand?

Can you see it?

Is it in your pocket?

Is it in the room

that you're in?

Take a moment to mentally

put that away, put it

somewhere else.

It could be physical, but

it's enough to sort of

put it in a symbolic

drawer in your mind for

a moment.

Picture yourself setting it down

or feel what it would

be like the weight of

it getting put into a

drawer and slid in and

closed.

Symbolically or literally, this can

help us get started and

help us ease into the

idea of unplugging and disengaging

and separating ourselves from our

digital devices.

So we're going to start

by taking just easy breath

in.

Sometimes hold it for a

beat at the top and

exhale.

And as we start, I

just encourage you..., we're just

doing simple breathing today.

We've put our digital device

away.

I want you to focus

on the quiet that we

can have from unplugging.

I'll bring up a little

acoustic music.

Just enjoy a minute unplugged

and then we'll string more

of those together to come.

Okay, let's begin.

Take a slow, deep breath

in.

As you exhale, feel yourself

settling into this minute.

Notice your body.

Are your shoulders tense?

Let them relax, if so,

or roll them back.

Are your arms resting comfortably?

Is your head up, your

chin tucked?

As you breathe in, imagine

the quiet that comes from

unplugging from all the noise,

the chatter of the digital

world.

And as you breathe out,

feel a sense of peace,

that there's no need to

check or scroll or respond,

right?

Okay.

One more breath in.

As you exhale, come back

into this moment and reconnect.

Very good.

Unplugging even just for a

minute, as we just did,

can remind us of what's

important, feeling connected to ourselves

and our surroundings.

It can be a way

of resetting, a 'mini recharge',

so to speak, that we

can do before we return

to our devices.

And we can come into

that next moment from a

more centered place.

I encourage you to take

this feeling of peace, carrying

it through the rest of

your day.

Try it again later, whether

it's during a morning coffee,

a walk, just sitting quietly

for a moment.

Try to build a few

of these unplugged minutes into

your day and see how

it shifts your energy.

Just see.

Just see.

Thank you for sharing that

Mindful Minute with me.

So now we've taken a

mindful moment together, our mindful

minute.

Let's talk about how we

can bring this into a

little more unplugging into our

daily life.

Remember, this is not about

giving up technology completely.

It's about finding a balance

and creating moments where you

can step away and recharge

yourself, not just your phone

on a regular basis.

You are very important and

your batteries can get worn

down and your life can

be improved by being recharged

and renewed and into our

life.

So there have been some

methods of digital detox that

are happening.

And if you care to

tap into them, be my

guest.

It's taking deliberate breaks from

technology and it's essential for

mental health.

So if you like the

idea of calling it silent

walking, I'll tell you a

little bit about that more.

This whole raw dogging thing

on travel.

First of all, I don't

think that it should be

competitive.

That's just my two cents

on this.

Second of all, if it's

at the expense of getting

up and moving around or

hydrating or eating, I don't

particularly like or find that

that's very health-promoting because

as we know, travel can

be dehydrating.

The air is dry and

it is very important to

move when you're traveling in

your chair and get up

frequently.

However, if you do want

to turn off technology and

try that out just because

you want to, not because

you're going to do it

longer or better than someone

else, I encourage you to

try that.

But here are a few

of my practical tips.

put the device

down.

We've all heard this before.

I've even said it before,

but make mealtime sacred, whether

you're eating alone or with

others.

So, you know, take some

kind of way to unplug

on a daily basis.

And this could be a

good time to disconnect with

the device.

You put the phone out

of sight.

You put it out of

a room.

There are actually boxes for

families just like they have

in schools where you could

actually put it in and

sort of lock it up

or put it in and

cover it to give you

a break from those notifications.

A second tip is: try

a silent walk.

You may have heard about

the silent walking that I've

mentioned.

It's a great way to

combine movement, mindfulness, and maybe

even nature or at least

some fresh air.

Try leaving your headphones and

phone behind if it's safe

or carry your phone just

for emergencies and put on

emergency notifications and just walk.

Listen to the sounds around

you.

Feel your footsteps.

Hear and feel the wind.

Maybe the birds or maybe

it's traffic.

But it's a way to

unplug from the digital world

and get back into the

real world for a time.

Another tip is: using your

time.

And what I mean by

that is twofold.

One is creating time boundaries.

One of my favorites is

setting some 'no screen time'

rules.

Maybe it's the first 30

minutes of your day.

Maybe that you wake up

and for the first 30

minutes use a digital clock.

I have several of those

around the house.

Here's one I'll hold up

right now.

Digital or analog.

I guess that's analog.

It has a digital bottom.

So I actually blocked it,

turned it off.

But use other means to

measure time and block off

times instead of diving straight

into your digital scroll or

social media.

Use that time for something

else.

Exercise, stretching, making breakfast, or

just sit quietly with your

thoughts.

A friend of mine recently

said that that's what she

started doing is she's building

in a little extra time

for reading in the morning

when she didn't otherwise put

it there.

She made time for that.

It will make you feel

more centered and ready to

take on the day and

ready to engage with the

digital.

And the other time related

usage, using time on your

side, is limiting your scrolling

to specific times or designating

certain times for your online

and consolidated shopping.

So instead of mindlessly scrolling,

maybe scrolling is pleasurable or

maybe it's something you engage

in for business or because

it's a way to catch

up:

set designated times for that

on your schedule.

Maybe it's during a break

after a task.

You allow yourself five to

ten minutes.

When you're engaging in any

new habit, by the way,

it's really good to set

timers and have reminders to

help you get there.

This creates more intention to

the time that you spend

on your tech also.

So you'll scroll toward the

things that are really, really

interesting to you.

Instead of getting dragged into

a gossipy article or something

that you say, "why did

I just spend time reading

that?"

Or the comments, more likely

as I've been known to

do at times when I'm

mindlessly scrolling.

Number three, a tip: morning

stretch without screens.

Now, I mentioned this before

of setting designated time away.

But when you wake up,

resist the urge to grab

the phone.

Use the first five minutes

to stretch.

We talked about a circular

massage on your abdomen for

regularity in another episode.

But focus on your body

before you get your mind

engaged in the digital space.

And sort of in line

with that, the morning comes

the evening.

I call it a 'digital

sunset'.

As the day winds down,

set a digital curfew for

yourself where you put all

the screens away, not the

second that you go to

bed, but in anticipation of

a wind-down routine.

We call it the sleep

hygiene or sleep routine..., winding

down toward rest.

Maybe it's an hour before

bed or starting to transition

to non-digital activities like

reading, stretching, or reflecting on

your day. [This] can help not

only wind down and get

off of the screen and

the impact it has on

the brain, but it can

improve sleep quality as well.

Perhaps a tech-free commute.

Now, some people really like

to engage in their radio

listening or podcast listening on

a commute.

But if you're taking public

transportation, maybe consider spending part

of your ride without any

digital distraction where you actually

look around.

You see who's coming and

going.

Or just to let your

mind wander.

It's amazing the things that

can happen when you allow

yourself time to let your

mind just go on its

own mission and adventure.

It's a small shift, but

it gives your brain a

break as well.

micro-meditation moments.

The triple M here.

Taking one to two minutes

to just like we did

with our mindful minute and

disconnect.

These little ones actually can

be additive.

You don't need a full

meditation session.

That's why I give you

little sips of Mindful Minutes

here to disconnect and show

you that you can do

it and you can do

it multiple times.

It could be one minute.

It could be two minutes.

It can extend, but I'm

not suggesting that like build

up to a certain number

of minutes.

Take little micro-meditation moments

and you'll see the benefit

there.

And maybe take a mindful

sip while you're at it:

so grab a glass of

water or make a tea

time over it.

It's small.

These are small but effective

ways to start unplugging.

Just a few more and

then we're going to talk

about the question of the

day and wrap for the

day.

There's so much that we

could talk about, but one

is write a letter, a

postcard, a note, write something

aside from a text.

We know we rely on

our phones for communication and

to stay connected.

I find it quick and

easy.

I find it fun and

I find it a way

to touch base sometimes with

more people than I would

otherwise be engaged with on

an ongoing [frequent] basis.

But teens in particular these

days, and there's some research

to support this, they're on

their texts all the time.

By some estimates, Pew Research

Center a couple years ago

said one in three teens

sends over 100 text messages

a day.

And more than half of

teens using texting to communicate

daily with friends.

They're using texting daily versus

picking up the phone, running

to the phone as some

of us used to do

as kids.

And only 33% regularly

talk face to face.

So conversation, writing a note

out, bringing our thoughts to

paper, teaching how to write

a note or a letter

to someone is next level.

And it's a big deal.

And it's a way to

disconnect from the digital world

while also teaching about communication,

conversation, and engaging with others

through that method.

And finally, I want to

encourage us to read aloud.

This may sound like a

one-off, but it is

a passion topic for me.

For deeper engagement, to counterbalance

the isolating and distracting nature

of technology, there are a

few authors and experts that

I follow and read avidly

that really encourage it for

a big reason.

One is reading in general,

Maryanne Wolf, who's a cognitive

neuroscientist.

She has an amazing book

I'll talk about another time

called Reader, Come Home.

And it really focuses on

how digital media changes the

brain and the importance of

having deep reading and critical

skills.

She shows how digital consumption

affects the brain, how we

read, how we think and

comprehend.

And her research suggests that

when we read on screens,

we're skimming more than engaging

in deep reflective reading.

And that has a real

impact on how our brain

cells, our brain signals, our

retention is impacted.

That's real health and well

-being there.

That's brain health.

So reading and try reading

aloud is really key.