Hey guys, Dr. Axe here, and welcome to Ancient Medicine Today.
Today we're going to be talking about the health benefits of going tech-free.
And these mobile devices are actually being detrimental to our health and many instances,
not that they're not convenient, not that I'm telling you to go completely without them
because I still use my mobile device in a regular basis.
But I'm going to share with you some tips on how to get more out of your life and some
of the damaging health effects of the computer screens and mobile devices in some ways to
combat those and detox from these as well here and the future.
By the way if you believe as I do that too many of these mobile devices today and these
screens are actually harming our health, hey help me spread the message right now.
Take a minute, punch that share button and click that like button.
Let's spread the word on how to use food as medicine and how to stay away from excess
use of our mobile devices.
Did you guys know there's actually something called nomophobia?
That is the fear of not having your phone on here.
There are some people who literally have a hard time living without contact to their
phone.
So this is actually a diagnosable condition by medical doctors, psychiatrists, as well
as nomophobia.
And what I'm going to help you to do, do today is get over or have no more nomophobia.
And so here is a few things to know about excessive use of your mobile device.
One, you know when you're looking at your mobile device here especially at night, it
gives off a certain type of light and that type of light actually keeps your melatonin
levels low.
So if you're on your mobile device and I listen, I would love to hear if you know anybody like
this.
I know that I've had people that I know who they will stay up, they'll go to bed at 11
o'clock at night, they will be on their phone checking Facebook, Instagram, instant messaging,
doing that for the next three hours, until 2 and 3 in the morning.
You know many high school kids and college kids are doing that?
They're on their mobile devices texting.
Once they say they're going to bed, they're on there for hours, and hours, and hours on
end.
I mean, I remember when I was in high school and I would be talking to a girl and we had
this, you know we only, we had a cord and I was in the other room and I couldn't get
away with it then.
Today, kids can get away with almost anything because of the portability of these mobile
devices.
But remember the health effects here, when you keep melatonin levels low, you're causing
cortisol levels to stay high.
Remember this cortisol is known as your aging hormone, if it stays too high for too long,
it actually cause your body to age faster, and also throws off other hormones within
your body, increases your risks of a number of different diseases especially issues like
adrenal fatigue.
So it is really important that we overcome this fear of not having our mobile devices
with us.
And if you're a parent that you implement this in the life as much of your high schoolers
there as well.
Reduced anxiety, again being on mobile devices causes a level of anxiety.
It's a visual stimulus that's really too much for us to have as many hours of days.
Think about how many people, they spend the morning maybe on their phone and they go to
work on there on the computer all day and kids are doing this a lot too.
And then it's more mobile phone, and it's TV at night, and it's more mobile phone.
All of these together I was talking to a doctor of oriental medicine who practices acupuncture
and we were talking about this issue.
And he said to me, said you know, what this does in Chinese medicine is when you look
at these mobile devices all the time like this, it lowers your body's Chi.
Your Chi, imagine if your energy levels in your total life and energy is it is a glass
of water, what it does is it lowers that overall energy you can have.
Literally sucking the energy and strength out of your body's organs in your system,
especially your adrenal glands, and your kidneys, your pituitary gland, and your brain, all
of these light, all of this stimulus is causing issues.
And I'll say that one of the big things here, if you're on Facebook today, I mean, I am
sick and tired of the political comments that are going nonstop.
I remember my grandma growing up she would just watch the news all day long, about all
of the murders and negative things.
And listen, I want to say this, I keep up with the news.
I actually do a five-minute news scroll where is see what are the big things going on in
the world, and I keep up with what's going on in the U.S., and Israel, and other areas
of the world, in Europe.
And so I keep up with those things, but I don't sit there and watch it for hours, and
hours, every single day, because you know what?
It's not healthy.
It's not good.
What I do is I meditate daily on things that are positive, the things that are life-giving
because I know that's important for my health, it's important for my physiological, my psychological
well-being.
And I want to encourage you to do the same.
Spending too much time scrolling on Facebook, too much time watching news stations and all
the negativity, it starts to seep within you, and start to cause a level of depression and
anxiety about what's going on in the world today.
So I'm not saying don't keep up with the news.
Keep up with it, get it in minor doses, and then the rest that they start filling yourself
with things that are positive in nature.
Going cell phone free for a few hours a day and really cutting it off especially at night,
it also can increase your focus.
You know a lot of people today, when we fill our mind with multiple things, we can't focus
as well on one thing.
A lot of people start off their day by getting on their phone.
I noticed that I can focus better if I don't check my phone first thing in the morning.
If I go and I'll spend time praying, and reading, maybe exercising, and then jump into an important
task, and maybe answer an email in the afternoon.
Those types of things, that's what you want to start doing to increase your health and
your focus in life, also will allow you to get more sleep.
Again, the blue light that's coming off of TVs and computer screens and especially cell
phones that light keeps melatonin levels low.
And so you are not getting to sleep as fast, but the bigger thing is you're not getting
the quality sleep you should be getting because of using your mobile devices.
And listen, you're going to be happier and healthier.
One of the things that my wife and I are trying to be really conscious of is when we're out
to dinner, not being on our phones the whole time.
This happens with a lot of couples and a lot of families.
People at the dinner table at dinner and family members are on their cell phone.
There needs to be when you're at dinner with your family a no cell phone rule.
Cell phones are off in your pocket.
You can't check it.
I mean that's really something I would incorporate as a whole family and whether you're a married
couple or there's a whole family, I'd incorporate that as well.
It's happier, you'll be healthier, and it's respectful.
By the way if you are agreeing with a lot of the stuff I'm saying, do me a favor, hey
help me spread this word.
Punch that share button and click that like button, and can I get a yes or you agree if
you know what I'm talking about the detrimental effects of these mobile and cellular devices
were using too much.
Now here's some tips.
Number one, get everyone on board.
Really just sit down with the family and say, "Hey, here's what we're going to do, when
we're at dinner there's no use of cell phones.
After the time of 9 p.m. or 8 p.m. no use of cell phones."
But just lay out a certain ground rules with the family, for the family to follow.
Number two, plan ahead.
Really schedule time where you're not [giving 00:07:35] your cell phone.
Let me give you example of this, you know in the morning schedule time for meditation
and prayer.
Spend time, schedule time for exercise and then maybe schedule to where, hey between
certain hours is when I can check Facebook every day.
Maybe it's between 5 and 6 p.m. and 7 and 8 after dinner, and then that's it.
Those are the times where you can do that, schedule that for you and your family.
Keep your phone out of your room.
You can get a traditional alarm clock or put it at least on airplane mode and set it up
to where you . . . that way you're not getting all these EMFs, electromagnetic frequencies
that can actually be detrimental to your health as well.
Take time to unwind.
Part of us detoxing our body is scheduling in times to do what we love to do.
Maybe it's a walk in the park.
Getting out in nature more.
That's what I would say.
What we have done in our society today, is we've swapped out time in nature and doing
things like grounding on earth.
You know walking barefoot on the ground and in nature has been shown to reduce inflammation
and help clear the brain.
It actually has been shown to be healthy to the emotions.
We've exchanged time with the earth and in nature, with more time on our cell phones
and machines, and what this is doing is increasing stress in our body.
So take time to unwind and replace time on the phone with more time out in nature.
And practice things to reduce stress like yoga, barre, Pilates, even running.
I mean different types of exercise are good for everybody, but types of exercise that
help you relieve stress.
And I want to mention this as well.
Diet is important as well.
If you really want to help support the brain and your emotions, use essential oils on a
daily basis like lavender and rosemary oil are two of the best, frankincense, chamomile,
some other good ones.
Also start eating foods that support the brain and reducing stress.
Foods high in magnesium such as vegetables, berries, nuts and seeds, organic wild meats,
get vitamin D daily, that helps with emotional stress as well, and again practice proper
exercise.
If you do those things, you're going to help you relieve stress and again number one with
this has been all about, less time on the cell phone.
Set parameters around your life with the computer, the cell phone, the TV because again these
are causing cortisol to be higher, it's causing melatonin to be lower, it's affecting our
sleep, it's affecting our overall quality of life.
And again, hey thanks for being on a mission with me, and for sharing this message on Facebook,
in here, on YouTube as well.
Guys, this is me, Dr. Josh Axe, talking about five benefits of unplugging from modern day
machinery going tech-free to boost your health.