The Digital Sabbath

Constant connectivity keeps the body in a mild stress state. Jaws clench. Sleep shortens. Posture rounds forward. The cumulative load shows up in the dental chair, bruxism, TMJ, recession at the gum line, neck tension.

A weekly day without phones, screens, and email isn't a productivity hack. It is a return to a baseline that was the default for most of human history. Choose any day. Phones in a drawer. Walk, read, eat with your hands, talk to people who are in the room.

• Pick a single day each week, Sunday is traditional but not required.
• Tell people in advance, set the expectation, take the social pressure off.
• Phone in a drawer. Charger in another room.
• Plan one analog activity in advance, a walk, a meal, a board game, a book.
• Notice what changes during the day, and what changes during the week between Sabbaths.

The library

Read more from the Wellness Guide