Quick links:
It is difficult to pinpoint the moment our relationship with our phones changed, but it is impossible to ignore how deeply embedded it has become. For many Australians, the first thing they touch each morning is not the floor or a toothbrush, but a screen. The last thing they see at night is often a stream of headlines, videos, comments and notifications that continue long after the lights are out.
Phones are no longer just tools we use. They are woven into every quiet moment. Waiting in line. Sitting on the bus. Lying in bed. Even moments that once offered rest or reflection are now filled with endless scrolling. What began as a way to stay informed or connected has quietly become an always-on habit that follows us everywhere, including into our sleep.
Recent conversations around restricting social media access for children have drawn attention to the mental health impacts of constant digital exposure. These discussions raise an uncomfortable reality for adults. If governments are acknowledging that young minds need protection from digital overload, what does it say about the behaviours adults have normalised for themselves?
At the centre of this issue is doomscrolling, a behaviour many people recognise instantly but rarely question until its effects start to show up as fatigue, anxiety, poor sleep or a persistent sense of mental noise.
Doomscrolling is the act of repeatedly consuming negative or distressing content online, even when it causes emotional strain. According to Psychology Today Australia, the behaviour is driven by how the brain processes uncertainty, novelty and threat.
Human brains are wired to pay attention to potential danger. News stories framed around crisis, conflict or fear naturally capture attention. Social platforms amplify this response by prioritising emotionally charged content that keeps users engaged for longer periods.
Each scroll delivers unpredictable information. Sometimes it feels important, sometimes alarming, sometimes shocking. This unpredictability activates the brain’s reward system through variable reinforcement, a mechanism also linked to gambling behaviours. Even when content feels overwhelming, the brain continues searching for resolution, reassurance or the next update.
The impact of doomscrolling extends far beyond time lost on a screen. One of the earliest effects appears at a cognitive level. Constant micro-engagement fragments attention, forcing the brain to switch rapidly between pieces of information without the opportunity to process or retain it properly. Over time, this reduces information retention and weakens focus, making it harder to concentrate on tasks that require sustained attention.
This pattern of rapid input also contributes to cognitive overload. The brain is continuously asked to assess, react, and emotionally process new information, much of it negative or urgent. According to research cited across sleep and wellbeing studies, prolonged cognitive overload increases stress hormones and accelerates mental fatigue, leaving people feeling mentally drained even after periods of rest.
Emotionally, the effects can be just as significant. Repeated exposure to distressing news, dramatic social content, and emotionally charged commentary can heighten anxiety and reinforce a sense of unease. Platforms that encourage comparison, outrage, or fear can disrupt mood and emotional balance, particularly when scrolling becomes habitual rather than intentional. Over time, this can reduce emotional resilience and increase feelings of irritability or low mood.
These cognitive and emotional effects often spill into physical wellbeing, especially sleep. Night-time scrolling overstimulates the nervous system at a time when the body is meant to slow down. The brain remains in a state of alertness, delaying the natural wind-down process that supports restful sleep. Blue light emitted from screens interferes with melatonin production, a hormone essential for regulating sleep cycles and circadian rhythm.
Disrupted melatonin production and delayed sleep onset can significantly affect sleep quality, leading to poorer energy levels, reduced concentration, and mood changes the following day.
Public discussions around limiting children’s social media use signal a growing recognition that digital overload and doomscrolling is not benign. Research increasingly links excessive screen time in young people to anxiety, sleep disruption and emotional regulation challenges.
What is often left unsaid is how closely these issues mirror adult experiences. Many adults face the same patterns of compulsive checking, sleep disruption and cognitive overload, but with fewer safeguards and less cultural attention.
Adults also set behavioural norms. Constant phone use, scrolling during meals, and late-night screen habits are easily absorbed by younger generations. The current debate offers an opportunity to move beyond blaming technology and instead reflecting on how digital habits have shaped daily life for all age groups.
A digital detox is not about rejecting technology or disconnecting entirely. It is about intentional reduction. Short, purposeful breaks from overstimulation allow the nervous system to recalibrate and create space for mental clarity.
Even small reductions in screen time, particularly before bed, can improve sleep quality and emotional wellbeing. Reducing digital input lowers cognitive load and helps shift the brain away from constant novelty-seeking.
Importantly, effective digital detoxing is flexible and personalised. It works best when integrated into real routines rather than imposed as rigid rules.
A successful digital detox is rarely about willpower. It is about understanding behaviour, reducing friction, and designing environments that support better choices. The most effective strategies work with the brain, not against it.
Build Awareness Before Boundaries
Before changing habits, it helps to understand them. Many people reach for their phones automatically without noticing what prompted the behaviour. Was it boredom while waiting? Stress after a long day? Avoidance of discomfort? Or simply habit?
Psychology Today note that awareness is a critical first step in interrupting automatic behaviour loops. When people become conscious of why they are scrolling, they are more likely to pause and choose differently rather than acting on impulse.
Reduce Friction Rather Than Cutting Access and Turn off non-essential notifications
Completely removing apps or devices is often unsustainable. A more effective approach is reducing friction. Turning off non-essential notifications, moving social media apps off the home screen, or switching the phone to greyscale mode can significantly reduce habitual checking.
Making small environmental changes can meaningfully alter behaviour by interrupting automatic cues. When the brain is no longer constantly prompted to check, usage naturally decreases without requiring constant self-control
Reclaim Restful Spaces
Sleep researchers agree that the brain needs clear signals to transition from alertness into rest. One of the challenges with bedtime routines today is how easily stimulation, such as screens and scrolling, can delay sleep. What often starts as a quick check can quietly extend time awake and push sleep later than intended.
HIF Sleep health expert Amanda Slinger explores this pattern throughout her Healthy Sleep Practices series, particularly when discussing people she refers to as “Rest Rebels.” She explains that staying up past tiredness, often to reclaim personal time or unwind, can reduce overall sleep without us fully noticing. Phone use in bed can contribute to this by turning time set aside for sleep into time spent mentally engaged.
Rather than focusing on strict rules, Slinger encourages greater awareness of bedtime habits and the role they play in delaying sleep. Creating a more intentional wind-down period can help signal to the brain that sleep is approaching. This might include stepping away from screens at a consistent time, dimming lights, or choosing low-stimulation activities before bed.
She also highlights the importance of rhythm and routine. Predictable pre-sleep habits help reinforce the body’s internal clock and make it easier to fall asleep at a consistent time. Over time, these patterns support better sleep quality and reduce the temptation to push bedtime later.
By adjusting evening habits and protecting the bed as a space for rest, it becomes easier to support the natural transition into sleep and reduce night-time stimulation. HIF’s SleepSpace program helps members put these principles into practice through structured guidance, education, and behaviour-based strategies designed to reduce night-time stimulation and support healthier sleep patterns.
Create Digital-Free Moments, Not Digital-Free Days
Digital detoxing does not need to be all or nothing. Short, intentional breaks are often more sustainable than full device-free days. Screen-free meals, delaying the first scroll of the morning, or taking brief breaks from screens during the workday can significantly reduce cognitive load.
Behavioural research suggests that consistent micro-changes are more likely to stick than drastic interventions, particularly when they align with existing routines.
These moments of pause give the brain space to reset without disrupting daily life.
Use Tech to Tame Tech
Technology itself can also be part of the solution. Apps such as Opal, Forest and Freedom help users set boundaries around usage, block distracting apps at key times, or visualise time spent offline. Built-in Screen Time and Digital Wellbeing tools offer similar insights and controls.
When used intentionally, these tools shift technology from something that demands attention to something that supports wellbeing.
Combined with education and structured support, such as our broader sleep and wellbeing programs, these strategies can help reduce overstimulation, improve sleep quality, and create a healthier relationship with digital devices.
The Discomfort You Feel Is Part of the Process
One of the reasons digital detoxing feels difficult is because it genuinely changes how the brain is stimulated. Doomscrolling delivers frequent bursts of novelty and emotional input, which the brain responds to by releasing dopamine, a neurotransmitter linked to motivation and reward. When screen use is reduced, the brain needs time to adjust to lower levels of stimulation.
This adjustment period can feel uncomfortable, but it is a normal and temporary part of the process. Neuroscience research shows that when constant stimulation is removed, the brain gradually recalibrates its reward system and becomes more responsive to slower, lower-intensity activities again.
During this period, people may notice short-term symptoms such as boredom, restlessness, phantom notifications, or the urge to check their phone without any clear reason. These sensations are not signs of failure. They are indicators that habitual patterns are being disrupted.
Psychologists note that reframing this discomfort as progress rather than resistance helps people persist long enough to experience the benefits of reduced screen stimulation. This idea aligns with established behaviour change models used in Australian health practice, which explain that emotional discomfort is a normal phase of change and can be a marker that a person is progressing through the stages of change rather than failing to adapt
With time, many people report improved concentration, calmer evenings, and a greater ability to rest without constant digital input.
Digital detoxing is not only about spending less time on screens. It is also about improving the quality of what is consumed while online. Constant exposure to emotionally charged, fear-based or comparison-driven content places unnecessary strain on mental wellbeing.
Shifting from quantity to quality means actively curating digital environments to support emotional balance rather than outrage or urgency. This may involve muting or unfollowing accounts that consistently trigger stress, anxiety or negative comparison, and prioritising content that is informative, educational or uplifting.
The eSafety Commissioner highlights that intentional content curation can reduce emotional harm and improve overall digital wellbeing.
Balancing heavier news or social content with neutral or positive material helps prevent emotional overload and reduces the likelihood of compulsive scrolling. Over time, this reshapes the online experience into something more supportive rather than draining.
A digital detox, in this sense, becomes a reset of the digital environment itself, not just a break from screens.
Digital tools play an important role in modern life. They connect us, inform us, and support work and relationships. But without clear boundaries, they can quietly undermine sleep, focus and emotional wellbeing.
The evidence is clear that small, intentional adjustments can make a meaningful difference. Reducing night-time stimulation, curating digital environments, and creating predictable moments of rest help restore balance and support healthier sleep patterns.
HIF supports members in building these habits through dedicated sleep and wellbeing resources designed to reduce stress, improve sleep quality, and support long-term health.
By stepping back from doomscrolling and approaching technology with greater intention, it becomes possible to reclaim mental space, improve rest, and create a more sustainable relationship with the digital world.