A day of rest, Why everyone should uplug from technology, at least once!

So, there I was facing another hectic day of family life, running errands while trying to catch some extra sleep time with the continual buzz of my phone underpinning weekend life. I struggled to find a moment, or even a second where my mind could stop and I could catch my breath.

Being a person who can remember life before search engines, I often reminisced on what if felt like to use dictionary to search for a word, ask a friend for a restaurant reservation or actually speak on a land line. Now of course, one click and every answer is at our fingertips every second, every minute and every hour of every day.

How fantastic does it feel to know the news as it happens, the weather on the other side of the world and that you can speak to you favourite cousin in Australia via FaceTime at anytime you want... But is this the perfect world we dream of? or is it crowding our minds so much, it feels like we are on a Ferris wheel and unable to ever step off?

That is how I felt after yet another weekend rushing around, emailing my way through the days and nights, add in my unconscious need to check Instagram constantly for updated information about friends and family, an interesting podcast and I had five minutes free…I was a phone junkie and I decided to do something about it!

Switching off my phone for a full 24 hours seemed like a huge challenge, but believe me, the more I immersed myself in the day of rest, the more it felt natural, and normal and the more I filled my day with more interesting pursuits - like resting, picking up an actual book or talking to the people I live with, and not constantly being with my head down looking at my mobile. It seemed that before switching off for a day on the weekend, I was continually distracted and whenever or whatever I was doing, I was always somewhere else.

The more I repeated the pattern of a day of rest a week, the more I felt more balanced and rested. Without the phone, I could nap during the day and it didn’t affect my sleep pattern at night and now I feel more in control of how and when I use my phone.

I guess the biggest lesson I learnt was, the world will not collapse if I'm not 100% connected all the time, although I thought I might! 

If you really can’t go without your phone for a whole day on the weekend, at least don’t use it at least an hour before you go to sleep and try charging it in a different room and see how you sleep then!

It is also worth remembering that phones used before bed have been proven to suppress melatonin release by 50% crucial for sleep - so if your habit is to check your phone or watch your iPad in bed and then can’t understand why you can’t get to sleep…that is why!

Finally, as well as switching off your phone for 24 hrs this weekend, our hot tip for a restful and relaxing rest day is to slip into your Homebody, and bask in the joy of no technology. 

As a bank holiday gift, we would like to offer a 20% discount on all Homebody! Use code BANKHOLIDAY20 at the checkout.

Have a wonderful few days!