It is so easy to get engrossed in technology. It’s never been easier to access, as most of us now own a smartphone – it’s all in the palm of our hands.

But is this much exposure to technology good for us? It has been shown that the blue light from screens can disturb our sleep hormones. Our attention span is shortened by the constant distraction of checking our phones. And our constant exposure to social media has led to us having more social anxiety and self-esteem complexes than ever before.

The advantages of technology can’t be denied, but I wondered how it would feel to go cold turkey?

My patients and colleagues all know; I’m a total workaholic. My mobile phone is my main tool for working when I’m not in clinic – I’m in near-constant communication with my fantastic receptionists, looking at the clinic’s social feeds and checking emails from patients. I’m embarrassed to say I take my work phone on holiday, and I have even taken a non-urgent call from a patient while looking at Michelangelo’s statue of David on a visit to Florence last year.

So if priceless works of art can’t stop me from checking my phone, I had to ask myself, what could??!

Off I took myself to a shepherd’s hut in the South Downs (aka the ends of the Earth, where no mobile phone reception can be found) Initially I was going on a weekend away with my boyfriend; it was chance that there was no signal, and so I didn’t have time to prepare for my enforced detox.

I found my hand itching into my handbag several times on the first day, looking in vain for some notifications, but the screen just read NO SIGNAL.

By the second day I had forgotten to check, and by the time we were driving back, and somewhere in the region of Reading, my phone beeped for the first time all weekend. It was almost a shock to hear it!

It was so nice to switch off from modern technology, and I came back from the weekend feeling really refreshed. Instead of dipping into work constantly over the weekend, I had an actual break! I think it’s so important to have headspace to think of new ideas, and being away from my phone enabled me to do that.

Going forward, I’m trying to switch my phone on to airplane mode after 8pm in the evenings, and on Sundays. It’s a small step towards a proper work/life balance, but it’s a start!

Why not try a digital detox yourself?