Your Brain needs a Break

If you are wondering about the effects of your brain, decision making abilities, clarity of thinking and response speed, take a note from a group of brain researchers who recently went off to the wilderness and detached from technology to study (albiet not very scientifically) the effects of the brain on detaching from technology for a period of time. Half the group were skeptics and half the group were believers -- all agreed to leave their computers, blackberries, phones, and all other technology behind. 

The results were less than scientific, but enough to make each brain researcher agree to continue to study the effects of technology and our obsessions with it on how we think, respond, are able to make quick decisions, reactions, learn, and how we behave as a result of an over reliance on "interacting with technology."

The scientists are prepared to recommend a little downtime as a path to uncluttered thinking. As one scientist puts it: “How many years did we prescribe aspirin without knowing the exact mechanism?”

To read more about the whole story go to Outdoors and Out of Reach: Studying the Brain

As for my own experience, there is no doubt in my mind that the benefits of detaching and getting away from technology not only provides clear thinking and a time for creative thinking, but also time to bond with others, feel our bodies, and relax our minds. This is critically important for kids and adults.

Create your own experience (and one for your family) and detach from technology once a day for an hour, once a week for a day, once a quarter for a weekend, and once a year for a week. Notice what happens to your mind, your body, and your overall feeling of well being.   Let me know what happens!