Did you know This Study Shows What Happens to Your Brain If You Ditch Your Smartphone for 72 Hours

 

Mobile usage has become common in today's world, but a study published in Computers in Human Behavior found that not using a smartphone for 72 hours can change our brain activity in areas which are linked to self-control and reward. Researchers wanted to know how short breaks from smartphones can change our brain functioning because too much smartphone use shares similarities between gaming addiction and substance use. There had been some studies done which talked about differences between light and heavy smartphone users, but this study wanted to know how short-term restriction of smartphones can affect our brain activity.

For the study, the researchers recruited 25 young adults between the ages of 18 and 30 who were regular smartphone users. They were also examined for any mental health conditions or gaming addiction. The study made participants grow through a brain scan called functional magnetic resonance imaging in two sessions. The participants were asked to fill a questionnaire about their smartphone usage habits before the first scan. When the first brain scan was done, they were asked to restrict their smartphone use completely for the next 72 hours.

After 72 hours, participants returned for a second brain scan and again filled a questionnaire about their moods and smartphone cravings. Participants were also shown some blocks of images to monitor responses of their brains to smartphone cues. Some of the blocks contained images of everyday objects, some were pictures of turned off smartphones, and some were pictures of turned on smartphones. The researchers then analyzed the data of first and second scans. They focused on brain regions which were related to attention and reward processing.

The results of the questionnaire, which the participants were asked to fill, didn't show any significant differences before and after 72 hours. But on the other hand, the brain scans showed significant differences. The scans, while seeing the smartphone images (turned off and turned on), showed increased activity in the nucleus accumbens and anterior cingulate cortex, which wasn't there when participants saw images of everyday objects.

The activity observed when participants saw images of smartphones was similar to studies related to substance craving, which suggests that smartphone usage works in a similar way. The study also found a connection between activity in the parietal cortex and craving which suggests that this brain region may influence the urge to use smartphones. The researchers say that even a short break from smartphones can alter the brain activity, but these changes are mostly neural and not behavioral. There are some other limitations to the study, too, like it only focuses on short-term effects and not long-term.