This week is National Screen-free Week! It’s an invitation to put down your phone or tablet, turn off the computer and TV, and enjoy life beyond the screen.
Off-screen time encourages connection with others and creativity. It can be an intentional time to connect with your kids, your family, and your community.
Taking a break from screens is vital for your mental health, too. Research connects too much screen time with increased depression, disrupted sleep, increased stress, difficulty focusing, and increased aggression. For children and adolescents, the effects are even more profound, with further impacts on cognitive development.
Here are 101 screen-free activities from screenfree.org. Make a personal goal to check off a few of these activities this (and every!) week. And when you put down the screens, pay attention to how you feel mentally, emotionally, and physically.
