Take a digital break by blocking internet and social media access on your smartphone to restore emotional well-being, regain restful sleep, and reconnect with the real world.

noli's read

The research mentioned is based on a high-quality randomized controlled trial (RCT) published in 2025 in the journal PNAS Nexus by Adrian Ward’s team (University of Texas). The study shows that by blocking mobile internet access, participants significantly improve their well-being and attention. The positive impact on mood was even found to be comparable to the average effect of conventional mood support. Participants also gained an average of 17 minutes of sleep per night. However, the creator mentions a four-week duration, whereas the active blocking lasted only 14 days in the study protocol. Furthermore, the mentions of reconnecting with nature and savoring food are poetic extrapolations of time spent "offline" rather than data objectively measured by the researchers. Finally, the study highlights that only 25% of participants succeeded in maintaining the restriction for the entire period, revealing the true difficulty of this practice.

the sources

1. 1Hunt MG, Marx R, Lipson C, Young J. 2018
2. 2Yang J, Fu X, Liao X, Li Y. 2019