7 Reasons to Take a Break from Your Computer ...

1. Rest Those Eyes

Have you been told that as you get older, it’s inevitable that your eyesight will worsen? Perhaps that’s true for some, but keeping your gaze fixated on an electronic screen while you blink at a decreased rate doesn’t help either. According to WebMD, 50-90% of computer users experience some symptoms of Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS). Symptoms can include headaches, blurred vision, eye irritation, and more. While this is not known to cause long-term eye damage, in the short term, it can make your life more uncomfortable. Stepping away from the screen and refocusing your attention on the world around you can bring things back into a positive view, and become one of the most important reasons to take a break from your computer.

2. Reach out and Touch Somebody’s Hand

Does it seem like you touch the keys on your laptop more than you do your sweetheart’s hand or your child’s hair? Do you hold your laptop bag more than you hug your spouse? This is not uncommon in the fast-paced world we live in. You may not even realize this is the dynamic that is being created. These lapses in human contact can have effects on your ability to reach out to others as well as your relationships themselves. Until healthy physical contact becomes natural to you again, make a concerted effort to show your loved ones affection and attention more than you do the computer.

3. Meet the Mailman

Do you remember a time when we would be excited to see the mailman come to our house, wondering what surprise cards and packages he was going to deliver? Remember when we knew his name as much as we knew our own? With the advent of online bill pay, texting, and emails, much of that joy has been washed away. It seems like oftentimes, the only mail received in a day is an offer to change cable companies or for gutter washing coupons. Why not surprise someone with a card in the mail for no reason other than to let them know you’re thinking of them?

4. Cursive is Not a Bad Word

Believe it or not, some schools are no longer teaching cursive writing. Could it be these rule makers forgot the pleasure of receiving a handwritten note filled with sweet nothings from their beloved? Cursive writing is an art form that needs to be practiced for a lifetime. It’s one of those practical talents that is also an art form. Keep up the cursive and keep the post office in business! The next time you want to send a love text, break open the stationery Aunt Meg gives you for Christmas every year and pen a love note in your own handwriting instead.

5. Addiction of Another Kind

Do you know some people who are addicted to being connected? If their iPhone is not near, their tablet is. All…the…time…There is a lot to be said for being unavailable, and meaning it. You are no longer in multi-task mode! Stop feeling like you have to check your phone every other moment, or that a very important email is waiting for you all of the time. Break the addiction by leaving your phone in the glove box of your car, and by not checking your emails more than twice a day. Yes, sometimes we are expecting important news. This is the exception, not the rule. You will feel incredibly light and free once you accept that you are not accessible by everyone all of the time.

6. Exercise More than Your Brain

You have heard the statistic that for the first time in recent history, today’s youth are not expected to live as long as their parents. This could be due to the rates of obesity in this country (you see where I’m headed with this?). The rates of obesity may be able to be decreased if our rates of activity increased. One great way to get that started is to put the computer down, and pick up the sneakers. For a percentage of the time you spend on the computer every day, use that time to walk instead.

7. The Wonderful World in 3-D

The world truly is a wonderful place. While you can talk to others online, you can’t sit across a table from them in vivid living color and reach out to touch their hand. You can see Niagara Falls, but you can’t touch its droplets on your skin the way you would if you visited them. You can watch a play, but you can’t react and share in it the way you would if you were at the theatre.Don’t miss out on the world because you can research it online.

There are some phenomenal reasons to love the Internet. It has kept you informed and connected in ways like nothing else. But it's only one part of the way you connect with others. To keep the other ways a vibrant part of your life helps you to appreciate all ways more.
How do you like to take a break from the Internet?