With the fast-paced environment in today’s world brought about by technological advancement, taking part in the digital age is inevitable. Most people rely on their smartphones for both work and play, so spending so much time on these devices is often frowned upon. However, our devices can actually supplement the way we live. Because we always have our phones on hand, we can make the most out of this connection by using them to build healthy habits.
If you’re unsure of where to start, here are a few tips for you:
Set Reminders for Rest and Reflection
One of our smartphone’s key features is setting alerts for our day-to-day activities. This can keep us on track with tasks for work and school, but it can also help us remember to slow our pace and rest. Setting reminders for moments of quiet reflection is one healthy habit we can build on with our phones. This could mean giving some time for meditation or following the call for prayer. Applications like the Muslim Pro app are useful for reminding us when it’s time to disengage from our hectic lives and have a moment of calm.
Remind Us of Important Dates
Another healthy habit we can use our phones for is being aware of important dates. Remembering that there’s so much more to life than work helps us set boundaries between our personal lives and the demands of the world. Things like our relationships with others and ourselves are just as important as meeting a deadline on a certain date. That said, you can easily program your phone calendar to remind you of birthdays, anniversaries, and even holidays so you can pick up a gift and plan some time to be with your loved ones.
Help with Healthy Meals
What we put in our bodies is important so we keep ourselves healthy by eating foods that are good for us. However, this doesn’t mean skimping on flavor. Healthy meals can be tasty and delicious when prepared well. There are plenty of ways our phones help us enjoy eating healthy—from browsing the internet for simple recipes and saving them on a virtual notebook to using apps like Muslim Pro to easily find restaurants with good halal food wherever you travel.
Monitor Sleep Cycles
Whether we’re getting enough sleep or not is a modern concern that calls for modern solutions. While smartphones have often been blamed for keeping people awake at night, they can actually also help us develop healthy sleeping habits. Enabling the function of our phones that track our sleep cycles will make us more aware of what we need to work on. It might even allow us to identify the distractions that keep us up: is it spending too much time browsing online shopping sites, watching videos on a streaming service, or chatting with people? Our smartphones can help us recognize what keeps us up at night and be more conscious about improving our sleep hygiene.
Exercise Regularly
Just as some habits may be bad for our health, there are good ones that can contribute tangible improvements to our physical well-being. One such habit is exercising daily or at least three times a week. Studies show that exercising at least thirty minutes a day is a good routine to build your stamina and strengthen your defenses against disease. You can use your smartphone to keep track of your exercise time and look for fun new routines so that physical activity doesn’t feel boring or like a chore. There are plenty of mobile applications now available for both beginners and fitness enthusiasts alike so you can keep moving anytime and anywhere.
Count Steps
In relation to keeping your body fit, smartphones and smart devices are now becoming more and more well-known for their pedometer functionality. This means that your device can track the number of steps you take in a day, which gives an indicator of your activity levels. Smartphones can also track the amount of time you spend sitting down in one place and remind you to stand up and stretch. This is a great function if you’re particularly conscious about staying active even while you’re at work.
Apart from being an easy exercise to do, walking has health benefits for your heart and other muscles. Furthermore, getting up from your desk and going out for a stroll can give your mental health a positive boost.
Although some people give them a bad rap, smartphones can be beneficial to our lives as well. They can help us to be more mindful about caring for our health and our relationships. With some smart screen time and the help of some free mobile apps, we can develop positive habits that promote and support our physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual lives.
