Is it hard for you to put away your cell phone, even though you likely know that all the wireless exposure is bad for you? You are not alone! Even those who know they are sensitive to wireless radiation have a hard time with this. These devices are so convenient, fun, and…yes, addiction.
Taking a “Tech Sabbath” can be a great way to begin reducing our EMF exposures, even if just one day a week, or a few hours a week. It does not need to have any spiritual or religious connotation….just good for mind and body! When I am doing EMF inspections, the cell phone is one of the greatest sources of wireless radiation, and is totally within your control to reduce.
In full disclosure, I resisted the idea of “sabbath” my whole life….until I read the book 24/6: The Power of Unplugging One Day a Week. I always thought I was “too busy” to take a day off from everything – paid work, volunteer work, and housework. Yet I knew this book was calling me to a new perspective on sabbath, particularly after listening to a brief podcast by National Public Radio’s On Being Project, with host Krista Tippett and the book’s author. While the book does not acknowledge any of the physical health effects of EMF’s, its recommendations are very powerful means of working on personal and family behavior change to reduce the use of wireless devices. You can listen to the podcast here.
In the author’s own works: “Tech sabbath can be an “epiphany on how to fill the day with the best part of life; a radical act of protection against the always-on, always-available world…helps us reclaim our attention, time, and perspective; exploring what tech amplifies for and what it amputates. Tech Shabbat is a force field of protection that gives us the strength, resilience, perspective, and energy for the six other days.”
Have you also resisted “slowing down” or “unplugging” one day a week as much as I have? Have you ever had multiple messages coming at your to try something new, different? 
After listening to this interview, and starting this book, I had a phone conversation with a dear friend who is a devote Jew. She was admitting to some chaos at home related to the challenges of raising teenagers. And then she said, “But I have Shabbat – and so I know I will be OK.” Wow !!!
OK: Now I knew I had to pay more attention to taking a sabbath! So I started trying the recommendations in the book. And I just tell you honestly that four months later, my life has changed! Here is what I have found: In committing to a weekly Tech Sabbath, I am no longer checking my email nor my phone for a full 24 hours or more. Sabbath has become a restful day of both contemplation and connection with my Higher Power, my family, and myself. It has carved out a sacred time to journal, read, review my New Year’s goals to improve my own behavior as a mom, wife, and EMF specialist. It helps me get back on track to keep these promises to myself and others.
The stunning results: This weekly “Pause” has led to a huge flow of both clarity and creativity in my life! During my quiet morning hours, before my family wakes, I journal and read. Instead of running to my office to check emails, I am flooded with ideas….about my work, our family life, garden plans, You Name It! So I keep a binder with loose-leaf paper nearby all day so I can jot down these ideas to begin the new week with a fresh perspective.
One more bonus: For parents, unplugging one day/week can set a positive example of how to model balanced use of technology. We want our kids to limit their tech use, yet it has to start with us.
Here is how it can work:
1. Make a list of all the things you LOVE doing when not on your devices: nap? Read a book? Bake something yummy? Garden? Knit or crochet? Puzzles? Draw or paint? Hike or walk with friends?
2. Pick ANY day of the week to be your sabbath – whatever days makes sense for your personal, work, and/or family life.
3. Begin with even just 2-3 hours: Not checking any devices and doing something that you LOVE doing.
4. If you have a partner or family, they don’t need to join you. It may take some negotiation for you to get the time you want. Doing family activities that are fun together may be part of the sabbath, like attending children’s sporting or school events, but without getting on your device. Over time, you can negotiate this together. Children adjust, and will find creative ways to spend their time.
5. Prepare in advance with what you might need to access on technology, such as confirming plans with those you might be meeting, directions, menus of a place you want to get takeout from, the weather report, or writing down phone numbers you may need in case of emergency.
6. If you have kids: Help them with ideas and supplies that they might use for this unplugged time, including an art project, handwork, board games, a new ball, or baking supplies.
Yes, it may feel uncomfortable at first. The “Fear of Missing Out”/ FOMO is real, and it can be overcome. Once you try this a few times, and you give yourself more and more time to do what you LOVE doing and REST, it is likely that you will love it! Cutting down on the exposure to wireless radiation is important for your mind and body, and so is “unplugging” to stop the flow of endless sources of stimulation.
Know that this movement of taking a “Tech Sabbath” is happening all over the world. Indeed, the first Friday to Saturday of every March is now called the Global Day of Unplugging! This is a movement that began in 2009 with Jews in California who wanted a Friday night Shabbat dinner without cell phones, and then a full day of shabbat that was more restful. And now it is a global movement! A team of us in Asheville, NC, celebrated this day at a popular local farmer’s market, sharing this idea with hundreds of very receptive folks who seemed eager to take a break from their tech.
If you feel that you can’t do this because you have someone in your life who may need to call you, like a child or aged parent, here are two ideas to help:
1. An inexpensive landline! While standard landlines can easily cost $100/month, landlines connected by Voice Over Internet Protocols (VOIP) are very inexpensive monthly plans, usually under $20/month. The product I find most reliable is OOMA, with their their hard-wired Telo White ($100), which plugs into a modem. (Do not get their “Telo Air” model, which is wireless) This requires a cabled or fiber-optic modem – hopefully with Wi-Fi off! Then get a corded landline to plug into the OOMA Telo White. Presto! You have your landline number. You can then forward your cell phone calls to your landline. And if your landline phone has caller ID, you will know if you really want to answer a call on your tech sabbath.
2. Use “Do Not Disturb” on your cell phone: If you are not yet ready for a corded landline (which is the best option with NO wireless radiation emitted), be sure to keep the cell phone away from where you are sleeping or spending the majority of your sabbath. For those folks who may need you in an emergency, you can enter their phone numbers in your phone’s setting under “Do Not Disturb.” It is still a challenge to have the phone on at all during a tech sabbath, but it is a good way to get started if you are hesitant.
To hear more of my thoughts on taking a Tech Sabbath, you can listen to a podcast interview I did with Courtney Snyder, MD or my interview with international EMF/EHS expert Lloyd Burrell.
Wishing you the restoration of the sabbath,
