In today’s world, it’s easy to get caught up in all the technology that we have in our homes, thinking that you need to have the latest gadget and then getting so caught up in the online and technological world that you may start to neglect some basic things that lead to a happy and healthy home life. Good sleep hygiene and family time could be put at risk if you spend too much time using your tech devices instead of relaxing away from the screen.
Home Technology – The effects on your health
Research suggests that too much exposure to blue light from technology screens and too much social media usage can have a big impact on sleep patterns and mental health, leading to anxiety and depression. Children spending too much time looking at screens are not learning important aspects of social interaction, turn-taking and eye contact and are not enjoying all the benefits of outdoor activities.
Flexibility or Overworking?
Home technology has also allowed many people to work from home, giving workers flexibility over their working hours and allowing them to work around personal commitments. The problems arise if workers get a work/life balance that starts to look unhealthy, with the temptation to get too engrossed in work matters when it’s so easy to keep dipping into emails and projects at the touch of a few buttons.
Manage the Tech
To make sure you manage the technology in your home, it’s useful to have a few ground rules. Limit the time you spend using technology. Don’t look at a screen too close to bedtime, and have some simple rules like no use of mobiles at the dinner table. If you have complex work projects to carry out at home, make sure you learn shortcuts to use your time efficiently. Simple things like knowing how to convert a PDF to Excel with a few easy strokes could save you hours of otherwise complicated work. There are lots of tools available to help you reduce tedious copying and pasting exercises, like the easy-to-use PDF converter at https://pdftables.com/.
Good time management and efficient working will mean you get a good work/life balance and you can enjoy your personal time and family time, spending time together and interacting rather than the solitude of looking at a screen.
