Lay Down Your Cell Phones & Give Nature a Call

After months of working insane hours with an overflowing inbox and stress levels that could match a half naked man covered in pork chops stranded in the Savanna. I’m glad to say all this is now gone with a week off in the heart of nature. With limited cell phone coverage and imprisoned by snow capped mountains, I decided to take full advantage of this situation and turned my cell phone off for the entire 7 days I was there.
I do this a few times a year or whenever I go into the bush or travel and the benefits I feel in terms of sleep, psychology and stress are totally incredible; but why?
In todays society we’re swimming in a sea of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) produced by electrical appliances, power lines and tools of a modern world. With the creation of more and more of these “necessities” being made each day, the influence they have on us has long past its critical threshold.
Today there is still much controversy over the actual health risks associated with using electrical devices, several studies still claim EMR from cell phones are linked to brain tumors, genetic damage and other health related disorders (1,2,3,4). According to the Spanish Neuro Diagnostic Research Institute. Just a two-minute phone call can alter the natural electrical activity of the brain for up to an hour.

Of course this is still a topic of much debate as the mobile device industry continue to claim otherwise.

But forgetting this for a moment, lets just take a glance at the effects of social media on our psychology.

“Overuse of social media can cause narcissistic tendencies in teens and anti-social behavior in young adults. Studies found that daily use of Facebook can make people more prone to depression, anxiety and other psychological disorders.” (6)

A few years back a couple universities discovered that one in three people surveyed felt worse (“lonely, frustrated or angry”) after spending time on Facebook, often due to perceived inadequacies when comparing themselves to friends. (7)

These few points alone should get you thinking about putting the cell phone aside but just to be clear here, I don’t believe social media to be an evil or wicked thing. In fact it can be quite a beautiful thing helping people learn & connect but only if used fittingly. However like most things we encounter as a 21st century being, we tend to overindulge or misuse.

So then, removing technology was the answer to my sudden change in mind set and reduction in stress. Well not really, sometimes simply removing technology isn’t quite enough and actually getting outside is also required.

Its funny considering we all came from nature, how disconnected we seem to be from it.

There is now actually something called “Green therapy,” also known as ecotherapy. This green therapy stuff is rapidly gaining the attention from those in the health industry because it seems to have the remarkable ability to help alleviate symptoms of depression.

A recent study conducted by researchers from the University of Essex discovered that taking a walk in nature reduced depression scores in 71% of the group, compared with a control group who also took walks but in a shopping center.

Only 45% of the shopping center walkers had reduced depression scores, whilst astoundingly 22% of them actually felt more depressed after their walk.

There are a heap more benefits to putting down your cell phone and getting into nature, such as improved sleep, cognitive brain function and reductions in disease but I’ll save that for a later article.

For now, lay down your personal handheld devices, cell phones and laptops, open the doors around you and go play out side just like your mother used to tell you.

My challenge to you all & myself is to try a 24hr phone free/ portable device free day 1x week every week for the next 6 weeks, preferably whilst being outside and in nature.

Love to hear how you all go

Yours in strength

Jon sharp
1.Lahkola A, Auvinen A, Raitanen J, et al. Mobile phone use and risk of glioma in 5 North European countries. Int J Cancer. 2007 Apr 15;120(8):1769-75.
2.Lonn S, Ahlbom A, Hall P, Feychting M. Mobile phone use and the risk of acoustic neuroma. Epidemiology. 2004 Nov;15(6):653-9
3.Hardell L, Carlberg M, Hansson Mild K. Pooled analysis of two case-control studies on the use of cellular and cordless telephones and the risk of benign brain tumours diagnosed during 1997-2003. Int J Oncol. 2006 Feb;28(2):509-18.
4.Westerman R, Hocking B. Diseases of modern living: neurological changes associated with mobile phones and radiofrequency radiation in humans. Neurosci Lett. 2004 May 6;361(1-3):13-6.
5.https://www.today.com/…/facebook-makes-you-spend-more-resear…
6.https://www.webfly.com/…/why-facebook-makes-you-feel-bad-ab…/