5 On Your Side: How to reduce screen time and stay off your phone

A recent survey shows that Americans pick up their phones nearly 200 times a day on average and spend more than four hours a day on them. Nearly half of those people feel addicted to their devices.

Phones can be distracting and lead to issues with stress, sleep and even our ability to connect with others. 5 On Your Side has seveeral tips to help you cut back on your digital use.

Even just having your phone in another room for 20 minutes can help you build comfort and tolerance being away from your device.

You can also delete or limit time-wasting apps like social media, even temporarily. Mute noisy notifications, set your phone to grayscale to make apps less tempting and replace screen time with books, hobbies or exercise. Ask friends and family to hold you accountable.

If you are really struggling, you can go into your phone and change the control settings. You can get something called a brick which helps limit your app usage.

If you're feeling really adventurous, you can downgrade your phone to a flip phone to get rid of the temptation to scroll altogether.