Life Mode: The Secret To Living A Healthier And Happier Life

Life Mode on Palm small smartphone

Since we relaunched Palm in 2018, our brand has stood for curbing tech addiction, encouraging a healthy digital detox, and ultimately living your best life outside of screens. We use the term Life Mode to encapsulate these sentiments, but since then it’s grown to mean so much more than just reducing screen time – it’s really about connecting with what matters most to us in life. 

Our relationships and reliance on mobile tech has advanced so rapidly that we never stopped to think about the effect it was having on us. We’ve become so closely tied to our mobile devices that we haven’t really had the chance to take a step back and look at how living in this digital world is affecting our physical, relational, emotional and mental health. Of course, a world-wide pandemic hasn't helped curb this addiction and has only forced us to lean even heavier into technology to stay connected while sheltering-in-place. 

If we can find any positives from COVID-19, it’s that we’ve been reminded that it’s more important than ever to find our Life Mode moments and reconnect with who and what we love the most. We at Palm want to help you on your journey towards healthier digital habits and beyond.

Life Mode on Palm small smartphone

 

Life Mode Journey

At Palm, we set out on a mission to help people rethink their relationships with their mobile devices. We want people to feel as though they are the ones in control of what gets their time and attention - not apps that seem to constantly ping, ding and ring, forcing us to pay attention to them. 

Simply put, smartphones have not just changed how we communicate, they’ve changed how we work, eat, sleep, date, travel, learn, play, workout and so much more. They’ve ultimately changed how we live! That’s why we created Palm, and Life Mode on Palm, so that we can start putting our real lives first with technology that helps us to still stay connected, but not consumed. 

We spend so much time on our digital devices without really thinking about the impact they have on our mental health, emotional health and even our physical health. With mental health being a big focus for many today, we often don’t think about how the tool we’ve come to rely on so heavily can also be the cause of so much of our unhappiness. Studies show how the dopamine index in our brains changes with the amount of screen time we have, which can often result in a negative impact on mental healthAlthough the concept of a digital detox may sound unrealistic or unappealing, when we better understand how our mobile devices can impact us, we can also learn to be more intentional with how and when we use them. 

We also know that our mental health is very closely tied to our emotional and relational health, with studies showing that reducing our time spent on social media to 30 minutes a day can significantly reduce depression and loneliness. Seeing these clear connections allow us to consciously make healthier choices and employ better habits when using our digital devices. As psychotherapist Esther Perel puts it, “Mental health is deeply influenced by relational health—ultimately it’s the quality of your relationships that determines the quality of your life.” 

Life Mode on Palm small smartphone

The problem is that tech can often distract us from our goals as screen time overtakes gym time, sleep time, or family time, with more than 80 percent of Americans reporting that they keep their phones near them "almost all the time". This time spent stuck behind our screens means time not spent outside moving around. Our phones can be great tools for workouts, bike rides, meditation, etc., but the vast majority of screen time itself is spent idle. While fitness apps can be great motivators during workouts and physical activities, they don’t do us any good if we just spend our time on Instagram or YouTube instead of sweating it out at the gym.

These are the moments when Life Mode comes into play – not just as a feature on our Palm smartphone, but also a good reminder to put your notifications on hold, and put your health and wellness first and foremost. 


Going Beyond Screen Time

Life Mode started out being a focus on reducing screen time and improving overall digital health, but it has since evolved to mean so much more. Life Mode is about living a better, more balanced life - as both a state of mind and a state of wellbeing. It’s a way for us to look at our overall health and wellness patterns, efforts and goals, employing mindful and intentional behaviors with our digital devices and beyond.

From meditation and yoga, fitness and cycling, sleep and hydration (and much more) we use Life Mode as a way to put overall health and well being first, and it starts with your very own personal health journey. If COVID-19 has taught us anything, it’s that we need to pay more attention to our real life relationships, especially the relationship with ourselves. Employing self-care practices that add value to our lives vs. distracting ourselves on our phones , is not just one of the latest health trends, but an important goal for us all to start working toward. 

Expanding from digital health into better eating, ensuring healthy sleep habits, simple skincare routines, talk therapies and physical fitness, our Life Mode ethos can help change the way we approach our physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing. We encourage you to seek out your Life Mode moments that will reduce stress rather than induce stress. 

Life Mode on Palm small smartphone

 

Start Your Life Mode Journey

Life Mode is reflected in everything we do. We aren’t saying that all screen time is bad, nor is it always hurtful, but rather, it’s about being more mindful and intentional with how and when we are using our devices. Life Mode is an ethos and way to view a holistic approach to general wellness that puts real life first, starting with our own personal health journeys. 

Even if you don’t own a Palm, we are here to help you on your journey to Life Mode - starting first with your digital health. Follow us on social and our blog where we will be sharing tips and tricks for being more mindful with our screen time and our health in general. Use the #LifeMode hashtag to join the conversation and share your journey, or share your story with us here.