TTUHSC counselor discusses how screen time impacts mental health

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – As many of us are starting up our New Year’s resolutions, there is one that doctors at Texas Tech suggest you give a try in 2024. KCBD spoke to Dr. Logan Winkelman, a counselor at TTUHSC, who tells us excessive screen time could be affecting your mental health.

“Excessive screen time, I think since we have entered this digital era, has just been something that has increasingly been challenging,” Winkelman said.

It is something most of us are guilty of, spending our work days staring at a computer screen then coming home to unwind and catching up on the social media posts of the day.

Dr. Winkelman said although it may seem harmless in a world that runs on screens, it can have negative effects on your mental health.

“We may not be engaging in other activities, or it could be a coping mechanism and that can lead to other things like anxiety and depression,” Winkelman said.

Screen time can also cause physical problems like neck and eye strain but the number one disturbance is sleep.

“So especially if people are scrolling on their phones for hours on end right into bedtime. Not only is that disrupting our sleep but it’s keeping our mind awake,” Winkelman said.

Just as important, Winkelman said waking up and immediately reaching for your phone before you have allowed your mind to wake up sets the tone for the rest of your day.

“Even I know clients and people that check it while they’re in bed, they turn off their alarm, and they pull it up. And that sets the tone for the rest of the day. And so try to get out of that habit. And remember, it is a habit. And so it will take time to break that habit. So be gentle with yourself. But if you can limit it, try to do that because that again sets the tone for the rest of the day,” Winkelman said.

Dr. Winkelman said her biggest recommendation is to be intentional about taking breaks from screen time, she says although habits aren’t easy to break limiting your time could greatly improve your mental health.

“Understanding our habits around it and understanding that a lot of technology is designed to suck us in and to designed to capture our attention. And so we need to take control of what we decide to give our attention instead of kind of mindlessly doing it,” Winkelman said.

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