Holidays Unplugged

Holidays Unplugged DISCONNECT & RELAX - Being constantly distracted by technology wreaks havoc on personal relationships Sunshine boosts the 'happy' hormone seratonin which lifts your mood The average person spends about 28% of their week managing their emails Spending quality face-to-face time together strengthens your relationships Multi-tasking between different communications technologies undermines your ability to focus Internet information overload leads to Listening to water alters wave patterns in the brain - much superficial thinking like meditation f 6,000,000,000 More than six billion minutes are spent on Facebook each day On average, mobile phone users check their phone every Being on a beach encourages contemplation and reflection six and a half minutes There were 175 million There are 575 likes tweets sent and 81 comments A walk in nature improves from Twitter your memory, enhances your immune system and boosts your mood by Instagram users every day in 2012 every second EXPERT RECOMMENDATIONS To really get back to nature, head to one of Costa Rica's beautiful wooden eco-lodges. Sustainability, solar power and conservation are the order of the day, and visitors can enjoy peaceful activities such as bird- or monkey-watching, jungle walks or kayaking through mangroves. Lucy Kane, travel editor, Rough Guides @RoughGuides I would recommend Cuba for a digital detox. Due to rules and regulations you can barely get online and Wifi only exists in less than 10 hotels in the entire country. Claire Boobbyer, travel expert and writer for Time Out, Wanderlust, Rough Guides, Dorling Kindersley and much more @claireboobbyer The remote Indian Ocean location, difficult island geography and modest infrastructure of Madagascar make it an ideal destination for a tech-free holiday. It offers a fantastic variety of landscapes, unique wildlife and flora, and it also has some lovely beach sites. Derek Schuurman, travel writer specialised in Madagascar, Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia and the Mascarene islands @bradtguides Practice being present. Leave your smartphone at the bottom of your suitcase and wait until you get home to post travel photos to social media. If you must use your phone on the trip, consider removing your Facebook and Twitter apps. Thomas Kohnstamm, author of 'Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?" @thomas_k You needn't head to the ends of the earth to get away from it all - only as far as Wales. My last (unintentional) digital detox was a relaxing stay in a cottage in Snowdonia. Or swap screen-gazing for star-gazing in the Brecon Beacons, the world's fifth international dark sky reserve. Cathy Winston, travel writer and editor @cathywinston Set your email auto-responders on both your work and personal email accounts. There will be less of a temptation to check for any urgent work emails, as everyone will be aware of your situation, and setting yourself a public challenge means you will be more likely to stick to it - as a matter of pride! Faraz Shibli, travel writer and youngest Briton to cross the Gobi Desert on foot @Faraz Shibli Blurry vision? Knotted shoulders? Restless nights' mind-crafting tomorrow's tweets to wow Facebook friends so they 'Like' you? Diagnosis: Social media-itis. Remedy: Digital detox. Step 1: Confess! Those infected are usually in addicted- to-digital denial. Step 2: Go cold turkey! Disconnect to reconnect with the earthy goodness of Mother Nature - the ultimate soul elixir - whether it's splashing in the surf or simply inhaling forest fresh air, it's all about switching off to switch on to life's simple pleasures. Sarina Singh, travel writer and guide book author for Lonely Planet @sarina_singh Sources: Expedia.co.uk http://icebreakerconsulting.com/email-overload-2012-email-stats/ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-honigman/100-fascinating-social-me_b_2185281.html People shaped trauel http://www.refinery29.com/technology-addiction http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2258639/GOOD-HEALTH- Its-time-digital-detox-Spend-time-nature-boost-creativity.html#ixzz2Rwelut12 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-60094/Why-holidays-healthy.html http://www.pri.org/stories/science/how-the-internet-is-rewiring-our-brains5861.html http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/07/technology/07brain.html?pagewanted-all&_r=0 http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/01/23/us-gadgets-idUSN2221996620080123 http://he alth.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/articles/2008/06/24/ host-of-health-benefits-attributed-to-sunlight http://www.prohackingtricks.com/2011/04/40-shocking-facebook-statistics.html