In a recent post shared, I read an article from Psychology Today written by Victoria Dunckley M.D. that confirms and explains what I’ve often thought.  Yes, I enjoy electronics and technology. In my years in the field, I’ve learned priorities and value of everything outside of technology. It is a tool; mechanisms that help in today’s society. Technology can be good in business and in personal productivity. However, I do believe there is life ‘outside the box’ and it is much more valuable.

If you have young children or teenagers or know someone who does, please take a moment and read Dr. Dunckley’s report.

Excerpt from: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/mental-wealth/201508/screentime-is-making-kids-moody-crazy-and-lazy

1. Screen-time disrupts sleep and desynchronizes the body clock. Because light from screen devices mimics daytime, it suppresses melatonin, a sleep signal released by darkness. Just minutes of screen stimulation can delay melatonin release by several hours and desynchronize the body clock. Once the body clock is disrupted, all sorts of other unhealthy reactions occur, such as hormone imbalance and brain inflammation. Plus, high arousal doesn’t permit deep sleep, and deep sleep is how we heal.

2. Screen-time desensitizes the brain’s reward system.  Many children are “hooked” on electronics, and in fact gaming releases so much dopamine — the “feel-good” chemical — that on a brain scan it looks the same as cocaine use! When reward pathways are overused, they become less sensitive, and more and more stimulation is needed to experience pleasure. Meanwhile dopamine is also critical for focus and motivation. Needless to say, even small changes in dopamine sensitivity can wreak havoc on how well a child feels and functions.

3. Screen-time produces “light-at-night.”  Light-at-night from electronics has been linked to depression and even suicide risk in numerous studies. In fact, animal studies show that exposure to screen-based light before or during sleep causes depression even when the animal isn’t looking at the screen. Sometimes parents feel scared to restrict electronics use in a child’s bedroom because they worry the child will go enter a state of total despair — but in fact removing light-at-night is protective.

4. Screen-time induces stress reactions. Both acute stress (fight-or-flight) and chronic stress produce changes in brain chemistry and hormones that can increase irritability. Indeed, cortisol, the chronic stress hormone, seems to be both a cause and effect of depression – creating a vicious cycle.  Additionally, both hyperarousal and addiction pathways suppress the brain’s frontal lobe, the area where mood regulation actually takes place.

5. Screen-time overloads the sensory system, fractures attention, and depletes mental reserves.  Experts say that what’s often behind explosive and aggressive behavior is poor focus. When attention suffers, so does the ability to process one’s internal and external environment, so little demands become big ones.  By depleting mental energy with high visual and cognitive input, screen-time contributes to low reserves.  One way to temporarily “boost” depleted reserves is to become angry, so meltdowns become a coping mechanism.

6. Screen-time reduces physical activity levels and exposure to “green-time.”  Research shows these factors restore attention, lower stress, and reduce aggression. Thus, time spent with electronics reduces exposure to natural mood enhancers