Breaking From Technology: How a 3-Week Screen Fast Can Improve Brain Health

Jake stood in the doorway to his dorm room, unrecognizable to his mother, who had just arrived on campus. He stared at her with dilated eyes, his face twitching and covered in acne, hair greasy and unkempt.
He had not attended classes for two months; instead, Jake had been gaming for up to 16 hours a day. The university had given him three days to vacate.
“Screens act like a stimulant, raising arousal levels and triggering fight-flight-freeze reactions,” Dr. Victoria Dunckley, pediatric psychiatrist and author of “Reset Your Child’s Brain,” told The Epoch Times.
When someone is gaming excessively, streaming videos, or scrolling social media, they risk becoming desensitized to dopamine. For Jake, previously pleasurable activities—even self-care—couldn’t compete.
“The gaming was just such a massive dopamine draw,” said Ms. Uskoski, who now offers video gaming addiction coaching for parents. “It became clear to me that it was an addiction, even as Jake argued that it was a time management issue.”
According to Dr. Dunckley, when this happens, it is difficult to disengage. A screen fast is needed to disrupt the behavior pattern and heal the brain.
During a tech fast, one refrains from using smartphones, televisions, computers, and social media.
It’s an opportunity to rediscover the offline world—without constantly checking a device for fear of missing out. In her book, Dr. Dunckley explains how removing bright screens helps to resynchronize the body’s circadian rhythm, allowing melatonin, the sleep hormone, to be secreted earlier in the evening and in larger amounts.
Melatonin production increases as daylight fades, but bright light, including screens, can trick the body into thinking it is still daylight, suppressing melatonin production.
“Brain chemistry and hormones enjoy an immediate shift toward normalization once melatonin is no longer suppressed,” Dr. Dunckley wrote. “Likewise, dopamine is no longer forced into a ‘surge and deplete’ pattern, which serves to improve mood and attention span.”
Dr. Dunckley’s book outlines a four-week plan that includes 21 screen-free days. Dr. Sussman’s digital detox requires at least three screen-free days to initiate his three-phase process.
Dr. Dunckley cautions that if a child wants to use the internet or play a video game, he or she will find a device and figure out a way around password-blocking software. Give the devices to a neighbor or store them in a drawer at work until the fast is over.
For children, use a desktop for homework, if possible, in a common area where you can see what your child is doing. For adults, keep all work-related tasks to work hours.
If you do not switch to a flip phone during this time, remove social media apps, turn off most (if not all) notifications, and use the “do not disturb” mode by default.
To fill in the gaps of free time, it is essential to prepare several activities. LDAs offer a slower pace and gradual reward, in contrast to the highly stimulating and immediately rewarding nature of HDAs.
It takes one second to turn on a screen. “All digital devices are really shortcut machines; they do ‘real life’ a lot faster, not necessarily better, but faster,” Dr. Sussman said.
If you want to play real football, it takes planning and effort. There are a lot of delays between joining a team and playing on a field, so the reward is gradual. In contrast, gaming is an instantly gratifying HDA.
Dr. Sussman recommends identifying activities along a continuum from stimulating and enjoyable to requiring some patience. Depending on preferred interests, this could be balancing playing sports or going to concerts with practicing a musical instrument or repairing something that needs to be fixed.
A journal is helpful to create a list of LDAs and HDAs and to track and record results.
“I didn’t experience the volatility with Jake, but he was extremely fragile and depressed,” Ms. Uskoski said. “So I monitored him as much as possible because I was worried that he might take his life.”
However, the fasting period becomes easier to manage once one moves through initial withdrawal symptoms, usually letting up within the first five days. It takes time to normalize brain chemistry and develop healthier interests that balance screen use.
During the fast, melatonin secretion resets to normal, dopamine levels rebalance, and stress hormones are no longer released for backup energy. Fight-or-flight symptoms or reactions may still be present but begin to decrease thanks to deep, restorative sleep.
From the cell to the entire brain, energy is freed up to do other things, and a positive cycle of improvement begins.
A careful reintroduction of select screen activities is meant to guard against relapse. For Jake, after 2 1/2 years of relapse and detox, the best solution was to quit gaming entirely.
Many experts recommend a value-based approach to choosing technology.
Other helpful recommendations include keeping your smartphone off your body in general and keeping phones turned off in a separate room when at home with family.
Dr. Sussman concluded: “There’s a lot of healthy uses of technology. But if you find yourself slipping into heavy use, consider a reset.
“It’s the first step. It’s not permanent abstinence from screens, but a critical phase to begin restoring balance to your brain.”