Summer is officially here, which means busy weekdays, busier weekends and burnout that’s typical of summer’s ‘yes’ energy. We’re all for summer busyness, but we’d like to do without the burnout!

But in a season when we want to maximize our time in the sun and with friends and family, how can we minimize our risk of burnout? We like tackling small changes with big benefits—and the digital detox is a must in our books.

What’s a digital detox?

A digital detox is a period of time (you know, like summer) when you minimize your use of electronic devices—think your television, computer, tablet or phone.

The purpose of a digital detox is to shift your focus from the digital world to the real world. Less email, social media, and mindless scrolling, more friends, family and intentional living.

It’s a movement to reclaim time (and mental health) and enhance your relationships—including the relationship you have with yourself. Which is always paramount to us.

Why do a digital detox?

The real question is why not? The benefits of digital detox are endless, from better sleep to healthier relationships.

Better Sleep Quality

It’s no secret the blue light emitted from our electronic devices suppresses our melatonin production, disrupting circadian rhythms. With less blue light, you’ll fall asleep faster—and stay asleep longer.

Less Stress & Anxiety

Being constantly connected—to friends, to work, to the world—is convenient, but stressful. Reducing our time on devices can reduce the social media comparisons, pressure to be available 24/7, and news overload.

Enhanced Focus & Productivity

Our devices are major distractions in small packages. Without constant notifications (and endless browser tabs open at the same time), we can enhance our focus and productivity, working more efficiently.

Healthier Relationships

It’s simple, really: The less time we spend in the digital world, the more time we spend in the real world, investing our energy in friends, family and ourselves. And we’re all for more self-care at L’Beauxtique.

How to do a digital detox

How you detox is ultimately up to you and your comfort level. You may like to turn off your phone every night after work, or simply set up app limits on your phone. These are some of our favorite ways to detox from all things digital:

Designate device-free times

Maybe it’s weeknights or weekends, your home or your bedroom, but designate times and spaces where your devices aren’t welcome.

Turn off notifications

Reduce distractions and interruptions (and heart-pounding adrenalin) by turning off notifications on your devices or for specific apps.

Set up app limits

If specific apps are a problem for you (we’re looking at you, Instagram), scroll less by setting up app limits—or deleting said apps altogether.

Unfollow or mute accounts

Some accounts aren’t good for our mental or emotional health. Unfollow or mute them to stop the comparison game.

What to do when you’re not scrolling

So, you’ve stopped scrolling 24/7—now what? These are our favorite things to do when we’re offline:

Go outside

Breathe in the fresh air and feel the sun on your skin. Go for a gratitude walk, ground your feet in nature, or simply breathe.

Be creative

Use your hands. We forget what it’s like to be creative as adults, so pick up a childhood pastime or host a craft night to remember.

Practice self-care

Create an evening ritual of being instead of doing. Light your Evening Aromatherapy Candle and breathe, meditate or journal.

Read a book

Not an e-reader—a book. Feel the weight of it in your hands, flip the pages, and be immersed in another chapter rather than another episode.

How to make your digital detox last

We know living in the digital world is part of living in the twenty-first century, so how do you make the benefits of your digital detox last? You become more intentional about how you’d like to reintegrate your devices in your life. You establish and enforce boundaries.

Ask yourself what you liked about lessening your device usage and what your must-haves are: Maybe device-free times or app limits are a must-have for you, but you actually like receiving notifications, so you reintegrate them without sound rather than turning them off altogether.

Whatever you decide, we recommend you schedule a regular technology-use audit in your calendar to keep your usage in check and yourself in the present.

Because the present really is better than Instagram.

ABOUT L’BEAUXTIQUE

If you haven’t met us yet, we’re L’Beauxtique. Founded by a Certified Professional Aromatherapist, and formulated by a Clinical Aromatherapist, our science-backed functional scents calm body, mind and soul—because twenty-first-century life doesn’t.

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Evening Aromatherapy Candle