5 smartphone settings for a healthier lifestyle
What's the story
Smartphones have become an inseparable part of our daily lives, affecting how we connect, work, and unwind.
But, at times, their ubiquitous presence can affect our well-being.
By tweaking a few settings on your smartphone, you can improve your mental and physical health.
Here are five critical smartphone settings that can help you live better by minimizing distractions, encouraging mindfulness, and healthier habits.
Focus mode
Enable Do Not Disturb mode
Do Not Disturb mode is a valuable feature that helps minimize interruptions from notifications during important tasks or rest periods.
By enabling this setting, you can control when and which notifications are allowed to reach you. This promotes focus during work hours or relaxation during downtime.
Customizing the Do Not Disturb settings allows you to prioritize calls from specific contacts while silencing others.
Usage control
Set screen time limits
Monitoring screen time is essential to maintain a healthy balance between digital and real-world activities.
Most smartphones come with native tools to monitor app usage and impose daily limits on certain apps.
By limiting screen time, you can avoid overindulgence in social media or gaming apps, prompting you to make more productive use of your time.
Eye comfort
Adjust blue light filter
Exposure to blue light from screens has been known to affect sleep patterns and cause eye strain.
However, activating the blue light filter on your smartphone minimizes blue light emission from the display.
This particular setting is especially useful at night as it prepares your body for a good night's sleep by reducing disruptions to your circadian rhythm.
Alert management
Customize notification settings
Notifications are meant to keep us up-to-date, but they can easily become overwhelming if not handled well.
Customizing notification settings lets you opt for which apps send alerts, and how they appear on your device.
By prioritizing essential notifications only, you lessen unnecessary distractions throughout the day.
Mindful usage
Use digital wellbeing features
Many smartphones now come with digital wellbeing features to promote mindful usage.
These tools provide insights into app usage time and recommend healthier patterns based on personal goals, such as reducing screen time or increasing productivity.
This encourages tech use that promotes mental health through regular, conscious practice based on individual preferences and goals.