A new study has found that asking people to stop using social media for just one week could significantly improve their mental health. The study, which is to be published in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behaviour and Social Networking, looked at the effect of social media on mental health and found that it can lead to an increase in depressive symptoms and anxiety.
The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Bath (UK) and is one of the first to look at social media’s effect on mental health. The authors of the study say that the findings could, in the future, be used to help people manage their mental health and that it may be recommended as a way to help people manage their mental health. They say that more research is needed to confirm their findings, but they believe that their findings could have implications for how we think about mental health and social media.
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For the study, researchers allocated 154 participants aged 18 to 72 who used social media every day into either an intervention group or a control group. The intervention group was asked to stop using all social media for one week, and the control group was allowed to continue scrolling as normal. At the beginning of the study, baseline scores for anxiety, depression and well-being were taken from all participants.
At the start of the study, participants reported spending an average of 8 hours a week on social media. By the end of the week-long study, the participants who were asked to take a break from social media reported improvements in well-being, depression, and anxiety compared to those who continued to use social media, suggesting a short-term benefit.
Lead researcher Dr. Jeff Lambert explained, “We know that social media usage is huge and that there are increasing concerns about its mental health effects, so with this study, we wanted to see whether simply asking people to take a week’s break could yield mental health benefits.”
“Many of our participants reported positive effects from being off social media with improved mood and less anxiety overall. This suggests that even just a small break can have an impact.”
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As time spent on social media increases each year, so are reports of mental health issues. This study adds to mounting evidence of a strong link between the two.
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Sarah began her interest in nutritional healing at an early age. After going through health problems and becoming frustrated with the conventional ways doctors wanted to treat her illness (which were not working), she took it upon herself to find alternative treatments. This led her to revolutionize her own diet to help her get healthier and tackle her health problems. She began treating her illness by living a more balanced lifestyle through healthy food choices, exercise and other alternative medicine such as meditation. This total positive lifestyle change led her to earn a diploma in Nutritional Therapy from Health Sciences Academy in London, England. Today, Sarah enjoys helping others by teaching healthy lifestyle changes through her personal consultations and with her regular contributions to the Doctors Health Press. Also, passionate about following her dreams in life, Sarah moved to France and lived in Paris for over 5 years where she earned a certification in beadwork and embroidery from Lesage (an atelier owned by Chanel). She then went on to be a familiar face sitting front row and reporting from Paris Fashion Week. Sarah continues to practice some of the cultural ways of life she learned while in Europe. They enjoy their food, and take the time to relax and enjoy many of life’s little moments. These are life lessons she is glad to have brought back home with her.
