‘Reset your tech life’ with a 24-hour smartphone fast

Key takeaways:

• Addiction expert recommends interruption of the dopamine pathways through a “digital fast.”
• Most people go through a physiologic withdrawal from devices even for a short time.

DENVER — Addiction expert Anna Lembke, MD, invited the Lifestyle Medicine 2023 health care audience to do a 24-hour fast from their smartphones and other digital devices.

“And the reason is to give you some inkling on what it feels like for our patients who are addicted to be in withdrawal,” she said. “Because I think most of us experience literal physiologic withdrawal when we go without our devices for even a short period of time.

“Compulsive overconsumption or addiction is a problem,” Lembke continued, noting that the neurotransmitter “dopamine is essential for the experience of pleasure, reward and motivation ... it is the final common pathway for all reinforcing substances and behaviors.”

Lembke recommends a digital fast and not touching any digital device for 24 hours. To optimize the chances for success, “set a date and time for going cold turkey.”

“So prepare for the dopamine fast, get your ducks in a row, tell people you’ll be out of contact,” she said.

People should anticipate the symptoms of withdrawal, Lembke said, noting the universal symptoms of any addictive substance or behavior: anxiety, irritability, insomnia, dysphoria and craving.

“When you get intense cravings, use hormesis — do something that is a little more painful than the pain of withdrawal,” she said.

When the fast is over, Lembke suggests making a specific plan for how to reintegrate digital devices back into your life. She also shared her own experience with a fast.

“For me, after a month of not reading romance novels, I felt great,” Lembke told attendees. “I was more present for my family. I was less irritable, less anxious. And I said I am going to back to reading romance novels and I binged that entire weekend. I was literally hungover when I went to work the next Monday morning.

“I realized, ‘Wow, abstinence violation effect — I think I need to abstain longer,” Lembke said.

On the role of addition, Lembke noted “there is so much we can do, no matter what our training and no matter our treatment setting.”