![Why your smartphone means you're out of clean pants!](https://cdn.magzter.com/1387480582/1715329613/articles/xASW1gyxB1715340110764/WHY-YOUR-SMARTPHONE-MEANS-YOURE-OUT-OF-CLEAN-PANTS.jpg)
We can get a bit jaded about the advice around smartphones and the importance of disconnecting. Yes, we know about blue light and too much screen time impacting our sleep. Yes, we know that social media is responsible for negative comparisons to others, setting unrealistic expectations of - and subsequent disappointment in - our own lives. And, yet, it is still persistently difficult to put our phones down. We live in a constantly connected world and much of our social interaction, our business connections, and our entertainment comes from the same device which research shows 90 per cent of us keep within arm's reach 24/7! It is hard to break away from the siren call of our screens, but what about the impacts that we aren't told about? What about the challenges we don't automatically link with our phone use? What if I told you that your phone is the reason why you don't have any clean pants? Let me explain...
Smartphones are named as such because they are physically changing how our brains work - but it's definitely not making us smarter. Human brains are reward based. If we do something and receive a reward, our brain will want to do that thing again. Research tells us that checking our phones, seeing a funny meme or receiving a like, releases a small dose of dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that plays a role in how we feel, how we think, and how we plan. This mini-hit feels great but it is temporary, and so our brain seeks more. After all, who doesn't want to feel good? However, the sheer number of times we reach for our phones means that we are finding it harder and harder to get a subsequent high.
Denne historien er fra June 2024-utgaven av Psychologies UK.
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Denne historien er fra June 2024-utgaven av Psychologies UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
![There's No Excuse to Slow Down! - Presenter, podcaster and author Gabby Logan talks to Psychologies about health, happiness, and overcoming hurdles in midlife...](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5262/1814813/FTlG1QWB71725274040301/crp_Logan-Gabby-LoganJill-HalfpennyAdele-Roberts-TV-presenter-Gabby-Logan-perimenopause-HRT-balanced-hormones-book-The-Midpoint-Plan-wealth-of-advice-middle-age-mental-health-hormones-midlife-crises-entering-middle-age-midlife-meltdown.jpg)
There's No Excuse to Slow Down! - Presenter, podcaster and author Gabby Logan talks to Psychologies about health, happiness, and overcoming hurdles in midlife...
Presenter, podcaster and author Gabby Logan talks to Psychologies about health, happiness, and overcoming hurdles in midlife...When TV presenter Gabby Logan started to experience brain fog in her late 40s, struggling to recall the correct word or name on live TV, she initially put it down to tiredness. 'I couldn't quite get that name or articulate in the way I had previously been able to, so I was concerned, but it coincided with lockdown and not doing any telly for a while. I remember feeling quite nervous going back to live TV.' But the former international gymnast soon realised that it was a symptom of perimenopause and promptly went onto HRT, which she says has balanced her hormones.
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Kindle your creativity
Increase your sense of connection and support your self-expression, urges Caroline Butterwick
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Fast and filling!
Join the high-protein revolution and eat better everyday, with these full-of-flavour recipes from nutritionist Scott Baptie's new cookbook
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What's your optimum?
Eating well can cure what ails us, so why is it so hard? Anna Blewett discovers the secrets to a more resolved relationship with food...
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"FRIENDSHIP DELIVERED SO MUCH OF WHAT ROMANTIC LOVE HAD PROMISED"
Author Marianne Power talks to Psychologies about self-love and the sisterhood...
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Summer break or make!
Hello, lovers! September is here, and the lazy holiday season is behind us. And for many-me included - now feels like the perfect opportunity for a personal kick up the backside, and to embark on a relationship reset. In my work, it's typically women who take the first steps accessing couples' help, but recently (and encouragingly) I've noticed an uptick in men reaching out to get relationship advice and wanting to put the work in.
![Time to spread their wings](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5262/1814813/pe1o1__wS1725276168851/TIME-TO-SPREAD-THEIR-WINGS.jpg)
Time to spread their wings
As the seasons shift and shudder, threatening rhythm and routine, Heidi Scrimgeour embraces September in all its bittersweetness...
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Big wild world
Caro Giles fills up her cup with summer colour and awaits autumn wonder...
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Stories to inspire
I've always collected other women's inspiring stories. On the days I feel overwhelmed by self-doubt or fear, I gather them close. They are like sparks of light, igniting that voice within me that says, if they can do this, so can you...
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Reclaim pleasure in your body
You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves,' wrote Mary Oliver, in her poem Wild Geese. Children know this innately. Yet, by midlife, we might have long lost the ability to relate to our body as an instrument for pleasure.