The Washington Post (4/9, Cha) reports, “A growing body of research links heavy social media use not only to declines in mental health but to measurable cognitive effects – on attention, memory and focus – that in some studies resemble accelerated aging.” However, “science also suggests we have more control than we realize when it comes to reversing this damage, and the solution is surprisingly simple: Take a break.” In a study“published in PNAS Nexus and involving more than 467 participants with an average age of 32, even a short time” without Internet access on their phones “produced striking results – effectively erasing a decade of age-related cognitive decline.” The study participants’ “time online decreased from 314 minutes to 161 minutes, and by the end of the period the participants had improvements in sustained attention, mental health as well as self-reported well-being.”
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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)