A Published Study Suggests Longer Phone Use Isn’t Bad for Mental Health

(Newswire.net — April 8, 2022) Orlando, FL — Various research studies carried out in recent years have shown that the use of gadgets produces undesirable health effects. However, in a recent study, it appears that phone use may be beneficial.

A study was carried out and published in Technology, Mind, and Behavior.  

It was spearheaded by Heather Shaw and Kristoffer Geyer from Lancaster University with Dr. David Ellis and Dr. Brittany Davidson from the University of Bath and Dr. Fenja Ziegler and Alice Smith from the University of Lincoln.

Lead author Heather Shaw is from Lancaster University’s Department of Psychology.

It has been found that general use of smartphones is actually a poor predictor of depression, stress, or anxiety. This has led researchers to warn against digital detoxes. 

In this research, the investigators measured time spent on smartphones by 199 iPhone users and 46 Android users for one week. 

The investigators asked the participants about their physical and mental health, and to complete clinical scales that actually measure anxiety and depression symptoms. Further, they also complete a scale measuring how problematic they perceived their smartphone usage to be.

They were astonished to learn that there was no correlation between the amount of time spent on the smartphone and poor mental health.

“A person’s daily smartphone pickups or screen time did not predict anxiety, depression, or stress symptoms. Additionally, those who exceeded clinical ‘cut off points’ for both general anxiety and major depressive disorder did not use their phone more than those who scored below this threshold,” says Shaw. 

Instead, the findings have shown that mental health was linked with concerns and worries felt by the subjects about their own smartphone usage.

According to Dr. David Ellis, from the University of Bath’s School of Management, mobile technologies have become even more essential for work and day-to-day life during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“Our results add to a growing body of research that suggests reducing general screen time will not make people happier. Instead of pushing the benefits of digital detox, our research suggests people would benefit from measures to address the worries and fears that have grown up around time spent using phones,” he adds.

Today, the scientific community is increasingly studying the techniques to protect mental health. There are many remedies found helpful in addition to making dietary and lifestyle improvements.

These include the use of plant-based remedies like VitaBreeze Curcumin, which is known for its high potency. Curcumin has long been scientifically found to have strong mental health benefits (amazon.com/Turmeric-Curcumin-Complex-Pepper-Extract/dp/B00JA4TLTI/).