A new study published in the PNAS Nexus journal found that cutting off internet access on smartphones for just two weeks significantly improved participants’ sustained attention, mental health and overall well-being.
The international study tracked 467 participants over the course of a month. Each agreed to install an app called Freedom, which blocked all internet access on their smartphones — both Wi-Fi and mobile data — for two weeks. Researchers verified compliance through the app, which continuously monitored whether the block remained active.
Participants could still send texts, make calls and access the internet on computers or tablets. The intervention targeted only what makes a phone “smart”: mobile internet access.
Major improvements across the board
Participants were randomly divided into two groups. One blocked internet access during the first two weeks, while the other served as a control group before switching in the second half of the study.
After two weeks of smartphone internet blocking, researchers observed significant improvements in three main areas:
• Subjective well-being: Higher life satisfaction and more positive emotions
• Mental health: Fewer symptoms of depression, anxiety, anger and social dysfunction
• Sustained attention: Measured using a standard cognitive test (gradCPT)
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One of the most striking findings was the scale of improvement. Gains in attention were equivalent to reversing about 10 years of age-related cognitive decline. Reductions in depressive symptoms exceeded the average effect of antidepressant medication and were comparable to outcomes from cognitive behavioral therapy.
Screen time plummeted
Average smartphone screen time dropped from 314 minutes (5.25 hours) per day to 161 minutes (about 2.7 hours) during the intervention.
Without constant internet access, participants reported spending more time in face-to-face social settings, engaging in physical activity and being in nature. They also experienced better sleep, greater self-control and stronger feelings of social connection.
Crucially, these benefits persisted: even two weeks after restoring internet access, participants still reported higher well-being and better mental health than they had before the study began.
A simple strategy with lasting effects
The study supports what many already suspect — that smartphones, while useful, are a major source of constant distraction, eroding our focus and mental health. The fact that a short-term intervention could “rejuvenate” attention by the equivalent of a decade underscores how deeply mobile internet use affects the brain.
In a world where 90% of adults own a smartphone and about half worry they use it too much, this research offers a straightforward strategy: using apps like Freedom to periodically block access to mobile internet.
This approach may be especially helpful for individuals with attention disorders. I think that smartphones are a major obstacle to therapeutic progress. The constant stream of digital stimuli undermines self-regulation and increases impulsivity. These findings provide scientific backing for recommending a “smartphone diet” as a core part of treatment for ADHD, anxiety and depression.
- The author is a psychotherapist expertizing in ADHD, author and lecturer