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Excessive screen time is one of the fastest-growing concerns these days, and I feel no shame in admitting that I was also a victim of it for a long time. If you’re on the same page, I highly recommend trying an app that helped me reduce my screen time from eight hours to four hours a day.

Hazards of excessive screen time

I often pick up my smartphone to do one specific thing, but eventually end up opening a social media app and scrolling through reels instead. By the time I realize it, I’ve already wasted 15–20 minutes. I’m pretty sure this must have happened to you as well, and this is ultimately one of the main reasons behind excessive screen time.

Spending too much time on your smartphone scrolling through reels and watching YouTube videos not only wastes your valuable time but also has a very negative effect on your health. The problem I personally experienced was constant discomfort in my eyes. They always felt fatigued, and even after getting eight hours of sleep at night, I would still feel sleepy throughout the day because of my tired eyes.

In addition to eye strain, the National Library of Medicine also states that excessive screen time can lead to headaches, blurred vision, dry eyes, and neck and shoulder pain. Research by Tohoku University also concludes that children may experience developmental delays if they spend too much time on screens.

If you want to avoid such problems and maintain a healthy lifestyle, install and set up the ScreenZen app on your smartphone.

How to install and use ScreenZen

The ScreenZen app is available for both Android and iPhone, and its installation process is similar to installing any other application on your device. I will show you how to set up the app on my Pixel 10, but the process is quite similar on any Android or iOS device as well. Once you have installed the app, launch it. You will be asked to grant various permissions, such as access to app usage data, permission to display messages over other apps, and more.

Grant all the permissions one by one, as they are necessary for the proper functioning of the ScreenZen app. After that, select all the apps you want ScreenZen to monitor. Basically, choose the apps where you feel you waste most of your time. For me, it was all the social media apps installed on my device. Then, set how much time you want to spend on each selected app every day. Finally, specify the duration for which you want ScreenZen to monitor the selected apps.

That’s about it. You’ve completed the basic setup of the ScreenZen app. It will now ask you to open one of the apps you just added to the ScreenZen monitor list. For instance, if you added Instagram to the list, then when you open it, you’ll see a ScreenZen message asking, “Is this important?” Furthermore, the app will make you wait for 5 seconds before you can access the selected app.

You see, this 5-second pause before opening the app is the main feature of ScreenZen. The pause automatically breaks the muscle memory of rapidly switching between apps and getting absorbed in them. It gives you a moment to think about whether it’s really important to check that app or if it’s just your muscle memory prompting you to do it.

But what if you develop the habit of waiting for 5 seconds?

Our brains adapt very quickly, and that comes with both advantages and disadvantages. Once you’ve set a 5-second wait timer, it’s likely your brain will get used to it after a few days. The delay will no longer bother you, and you’ll comfortably wait that long before opening the selected app.

ScreenZen is aware of all this, which is why it includes several advanced features to address such situations. In the “Apps” tab of the ScreenZen app, select your app group. Then, tap the dropdown icon next to the “Pause For” option to increase the waiting time before opening the chosen app. You should increase it right away if you feel your brain has become comfortable with a particular pause duration. Tap the “With the Message” drop-down menu and change the message that appears when you try to open a selected app if you feel the current one no longer motivates you.

The Daily Goal section allows you to set how many times you want to open the selected apps each day and how long each session should last. To ensure you can’t open the selected apps once you reach your daily usage limit, enable the “Strict Block After Daily Limit Goal” toggle.

You’ll also find a Pause Alternatives section, which I liked the most. It lets you choose what to do while you’re on the pause screen. You can opt to do a breathing exercise, solve a math problem, or even write down the reason why you want to open the selected app.

You can also configure the Advanced section to make it a bit harder to access the selected apps. I highly recommend setting up the “Cooldown Time” option under the Advanced section. For example, if you set a cooldown time of 5 minutes, you’ll need to wait 5 minutes before reopening any of the selected apps after closing them.

This was all about ScreenZen and how to set it up on your smartphone. Believe me, you’ll notice positive effects on your body when your screen time is reduced. In my case, my eye fatigue completely disappeared after using ScreenZen consistently for a week.