How a Daily 60-Minute Break From My Smartphone Fixed My Anxiety
By: Alvin Ang
Tags: Self Improvement, Lifestyle, Life Lessons, Mental Health, Social Media

Consume Great Fiction Before Bed.

This is a complete gamechanger.

I majored in Communications in college, and right before I dropped out I learned that there was an interesting phenomenon called “narrative transportation.” The Wikipedia definition of it is as follows: “Narrative transportation theory proposes that when people lose themselves in a story, their attitudes and intentions change to reflect that story.”

Think back to the last great movie you watched, one that made you feel like you were right there as the bombs went off or the dragons breathed fire or when the characters stepped out of a dusty closet into Narnia. Narrative transportation explains why when I read The Lord of the Rings I feel like I’m in The Shire, and why when I watch Stranger Things I taste the bittersweet tinge of 80’s nostalgia.

Narrative transportation takes you away from your reality to the world of whatever you’re reading or watching. Most of the time this is a wonderful thing, but in my case, it led to a lot of anxiety. You see, I used to read a lot of self-help and business books before going to bed.

Yes, these books helped me grow, but reading The Four Hour Work Week before bed would hype me up and bombard my brain full of ideas. And this state of heightened state of arousal would follow me into dreamland and manifest as unrestful sleep, nightmares and the slow but constant grinding of teeth.

I didn’t even realize how bad I had it until I switched to fiction upon my friend's advice. Reading the works of Neil Gaiman, G.R.R Martin and even the horrorscapes of Stephen King took me out of my head. Suddenly, I wasn’t a struggling Singaporean entrepreneur anymore. I was Ser Jaime Lannister of Westeros, who upon having his sword hand cut off, has to forge a new identity for himself as a crippled commander.

Consuming fiction, particularly speculative fiction such as high fantasy and sci-fi, serves to transport me to a realm that is infinitely bigger, brighter and fundamentally different from the one I inhabit. There, for a few short hours, I can forget my weals and woes. I can rest. I can heal.

So don’t consume non-fiction before bed. Self-help articles and the latest tragedy unfolding on Fox News can be perused during the day. Opt instead to swap out your nighttime entertainment for something more relaxing, something more magical. A good-old-fashioned novel comes to mind, or a classic fantasy flick like Harry Potter. Please, give it a try before you roll your eyes.

You’d be surprised by how much tranquillity this simple tip introduces into your life.

For God’s Sake — Put Your Phone on Airplane Mode Before You Sleep.

Or better yet, shut it off. If you can’t turn it off your device for 8 measly hours a day — when you’re dead to the world, no less, it’s a sign that something is truly, terribly wrong.

I’ve been rudely awakened more times than I can count by a stranger calling the wrong number or by a text from the bank advertising their latest loan scheme. And believe me, these rude awakenings add up.

There’s a reason why many self-help gurus emphasise morning routines, and that's because the way you start your morning colours your entire day. Isn’t it stupid to let your day dictated by something as inconsequential as a mistaken phone call?

A simple way to avoid this problem is to switch your phone off and stick it in the drawer an hour before bedtime, or at least put it on airplane mode. This simple act will also prevent you from checking your phone the instant you wake, which brings us to our next point….

Don’t Check Your Phone Immediately After Waking. Get One Mindfulness Practice in Instead.

I have to confess, this last point is the one I have the most trouble with.

It's so easy, so convenient, so tempting, to wake up and check your notifications. To check what new notifications popped up over the night, or if you’re work-oriented, to refresh your emails.

The problem is this habit catapults you into work mode. It doesn’t give you time to relish that delicious moment where you’re semi-conscious, your Self slow-emerging from your soupy subconscious as sunlight streams soft-yellow into your room. It doesn’t allow you time to reflect and plan for your day ahead.

Nowadays, instead of checking my notifications first thing in the morning, I practice mindfulness instead. For 30-minutes, I do some light stretching, then proceed to journal three-pages for the day. And this is no hyperbole, I truly consider my morning practice the cornerstone of my happiness.

Writing first thing in the morning makes me feel productive. If nothing else happens, I already have three pages of freehand material done and dusted. Filling in my journal over a cup of coffee gives me rare time to introspect, to digest my past and plan for the future. And lastly, my journalling habit helps me warm up my writer’s fingers — and more crucially, my writer’s mind.

If, for some reason, you can only implement one of these three tips, let it be this one. Swap out your morning phone time for some mindful time with yourself. It doesn’t have to be journaling. Here are some great options:

Yoga

Meditation

A morning run in nature

Playing the piano over some tea

A light workout in the sun

Take your pick. It doesn’t have to be anything hardcore — your morning mindfulness practise is nothing more than a medium that allows you to spend some quality time with yourself before the busyness of the day. Done right, this practice will not only help you dispel anxiety. It will help you know yourself better.

And to know is to love.