Answer: You check your digital devices first and last thing
If you find yourself checking in on the social world, or making sure you don’t have any new emails before going to bed, only to wake up and see what you missed while you grabbed some shut eye – this one’s for you!
According to the Digital Australia: State of the Nation report you’re not alone. In fact, 60% of Aussies check their smartphone or tablet before they go to bed and 64% check their smartphone or tablet when they wake up in the morning.
If you also find yourself not sleeping well, this may be why. A quarter of those surveyed believe that their smartphones and tablets have a negative effect on their sleep and they’re probably right. Research suggests that staring at the light emitted from digital screens prevents your brain from releasing the hormone melatonin, telling your body to stay alert and making it harder to fall asleep.
2. Charging your phone overnight
While we’re talking about sleep, let’s discuss how we recharge our devices while we too recharge. Why, you ask? There’s no wrong way! Well, I thought so too but apparently there is. Many of us are probably used to chucking our smartphones on charge overnight. We plug our phone in, set our alarms and then grab some shut-eye. Tech experts have revealed this can damage your phone as batteries depreciate from the minute we get them and by charging them overnight we’re increasing the time our phones are connected to a power supply, decreasing its long-term battery capacity.
3. One digital device isn’t enough
If you fidget (or as I like to say, are great at multitasking) you may find yourself watching a movie while looking up things on your laptop or keeping up to date with the latest news on your phone. You’re not alone; 60% of Aussie’s say they keep their hands busy by using smartphones or tablets while watching TV.
4. Can’t put the phone down
With everything moving to digital it can be hard to put the phone down and walk away. I know I often find myself “Googling it” when you need an answer right here and now. Smartphones make getting answers easy. In fact, 35% of Aussies will even research a product online whilst in the store.
Technology is great but if you find yourself glued to your phone and wanting a break, try switching it off. It’s more common than you think with 44% of people saying they regularly “switch off” for some much-needed downtime. So next time you need to get away, hit the switch and take a rest.
5. Jumping online at work
It can be tempting to log in to personal accounts during the day at work instead of waiting until break times or the end of the day. 15% of Aussies check their social media account 3 or 4 times a day and 18% check 5 or more times a day during a normal work day. That might not seem too bad but when you add to it that 33% of people complete personal tasks such as internet banking more than 1 or 2 times a day at work and 45% email from personal account more than 1 or 2 times a day, the time adds up!