Screen Time: The thing sabotaging your workouts

I recently watched an Instagram Reel on how excessive screen time can affect athletic performance ( the irony is not lost on me). A basketball coach was requiring that his high school team had to stay completely off of their phones an hour before and after practice and games. His theory was that the screen time took away their ability to prepare for, learn, and internalize the lessons from the practices and games. I thought this was incredibly interesting, and as an athlete I am always looking for ways to improve my game. Even if you are not an “athlete” and more of a casual gym goer, still check out all of the ways screen time may be affecting your workouts. If you are looking for any way to remove anxiety from exercise, removing screen time is bound to help ( check out this article for the other thing that may be keeping anxiety in your life). 

Stop the Screens Before Bed

Excessive screen time, particularly in the hours leading up to bedtime, disrupts the body’s natural sleep cycle by delaying the release of melatonin, the hormone responsible for sleep. This disruption has significant consequences for athletes, as quality sleep is essential for recovery and performance. The blue light emitted by screens mimics daylight, tricking the brain into staying alert longer. Athletes who sacrifice sleep to scroll on their devices often experience decreased reaction times, impaired decision-making, and reduced endurance. Studies, including those cited by Stanford Lifestyle Medicine, emphasize that insufficient sleep hampers muscle repair and cognitive readiness, directly impacting performance​ (Descourouez, 2024). To maximize your time in the gym you need to put the phone away, especially before bed. Mindlessly scrolling before bed sounds awesome in theory. It is a nice way to decompress and shut off your brain before sleep. In reality, it affects your sleep cycle too much, especially considering the lack of benefit scrolling provides. 

Reduced Physical Activity

Impact on Focus and Mental Fatigue

In a discussion with one of my friends who minored in Psychology, she mentioned that her theory for the mental health crisis today is because of social media. She specifically mentioned that our brains haven’t evolved at the rate our technology has, so the profuse amount of information we are plagued with is indeed too much. Frequent screen usage fosters habits of distraction, which can bleed into athletic training and performance. Athletes are particularly vulnerable to the mental fatigue associated with constant notifications and social media comparisons. According to Voice in Sport, these distractions can undermine the mental clarity and focus required for peak athletic output (Armitage, 2022). Beyond focus, screen use often leads to cognitive overload, as the brain struggles to process endless streams of information. This chronic mental strain detracts from the mental resilience needed for both training and competition.

Neurological and Posture Strain

The long-term risks of excessive screen time extend beyond immediate performance, posing threats to neurological and physical health. Prolonged screen use has been linked to thinning of the cerebral cortex, the brain region responsible for decision-making and coordination, which are critical for athletes. Furthermore, poor posture associated with screen use, such as “tech neck,” can cause chronic pain and muscular imbalances, directly impacting an athlete’s biomechanics. These combined effects underscore the necessity of mitigating screen time to preserve both brain and body health​.

Armitage, Hanae. “Screen Time: The Good, the Healthy and the Mind-Numbing.” Scope, Logo Left ContentLogo Right Content Scope Stanford University School of Medicine blog, 22 Mar. 2024, scopeblog.stanford.edu/2022/12/09/screen-time-the-good-the-healthy-and-the-mind-numbing/.