Welcome back to the club. Today's edition explores:
Deep Dive: What happened when people blocked the internet on their phones for two weeks
Pillar Spotlight: The 10-second balance test linked to a longer life
Video of the Week: Psychologist Lisa Feldman Barrett on how your brain creates your emotions
DEEP DIVE
Two Weeks Without Mobile Internet
Most of us check our phones without thinking. So what happens if you switch off the internet on your phone?
Researchers tested exactly that. They recruited 467 adults in the US and Canada who agreed to block all mobile internet on their phones for two weeks using an app. Calls and texts still worked, and people could still go online on a laptop or tablet.
Participants were split at random into two groups. One group blocked their internet straight away. The other carried on as normal for two weeks, acting as the comparison group, and then took their turn.
The most obvious change was screen time, which halved. In the first group, it fell from 314 minutes a day to 161.
People felt better too. 91 percent of people improved on at least one outcome, and life satisfaction, mood and mental health all got better. The improvement in mental health was bigger than the average effect of antidepressants in past studies, though the authors stress that those studies looked at very different groups and treatments.
Attention got sharper as well. On a computer test of focus, the gain was about the same size as 10 years of age-related decline.
So why might wellbeing improve? With the internet off, people spent more time socialising in person, exercising and being in nature. They also felt more in control and slept a little more.
Some of the benefits lasted, too. Two weeks after the block ended, wellbeing and mental health were still better than at the start, and screen time remained lower.
The study does have limits. Sticking to it was hard: only 25.5 percent of people kept the block on for at least 10 of the 14 days. And everyone was an iPhone user recruited online, with an average age of 32, so the results may not apply to everyone.
Still, the results are striking, and the authors suggest you may not need a full block to benefit, though that wasn't tested directly.
The Protocol
Try A Two-Week Block: Use a blocking app or switch off mobile data and Wi-Fi on your phone. Calls and texts stay on.
Keep The Laptop For Essentials: People could still go online from a computer or tablet. Save emails, banking and browsing for there.
Plan What To Do Instead: The benefits came partly from more time with people, more exercise and more time outside. Line up a walk, a coffee with a friend or a hobby.
Expect It To Be Hard: Only about a quarter of people kept the block on for most of the two weeks. If you slip, switch it back on and keep going.
PILLAR SPOTLIGHT · MOVEMENT & METABOLISM
Can You Stand On One Leg For 10 Seconds?
Here is a test you can try right now: stand on one leg for 10 seconds without holding on.
Researchers in Brazil asked 1,702 adults aged 51 to 75 to do exactly that, then followed them for a median of seven years. About 1 in 5 could not manage it.
Over the follow-up, 17.5 percent of those who failed the test died, compared with 4.6 percent of those who passed. After accounting for age, sex, weight and health conditions, failing was linked to an 84 percent higher risk of dying.
It is an observational study, so it cannot prove that poor balance causes early death, and 68 percent of the participants were men. But balance fades quickly after our mid-50s, and it can be trained. Try practising on one leg while you brush your teeth, standing close to something you can hold.
VIDEO OF THE WEEK
Where Emotions Come From
Psychologist Lisa Feldman Barrett has spent 25 years studying emotions. She explains why your brain builds your feelings rather than simply reacting to the world. It's a fresh take that may change how you handle stress and bad days.
That's it for this week.
Try two weeks with mobile internet switched off and see how you feel. Practise standing on one leg while you brush your teeth. And watch Lisa Feldman Barrett's talk the next time a bad mood takes over. Small steps, and all of them easy to start.
Take care of yourself,
The Vitality Club
THE SUMMARY
Key takeaways
A 2025 randomised trial in PNAS Nexus asked 467 adults in the US and Canada to block mobile internet on their phones for two weeks, with calls, texts and laptops still allowed.
Screen time fell from 314 to 161 minutes a day, and mental health, wellbeing and sustained attention all improved.
91 percent of participants improved on at least one outcome, and the attention gain matched about 10 years of age-related decline.
Only 25.5 percent kept the block on for at least 10 of the 14 days, and the sample was online iPhone users with an average age of 32.
In 1,702 adults aged 51 to 75, being unable to stand on one leg for 10 seconds was linked to an 84 percent higher risk of death over about seven years.
Sources
Castelo N, et al. (2025). Blocking mobile internet on smartphones improves sustained attention, mental health, and subjective well-being. PNAS Nexus.
Araujo CG, et al. (2022). Successful 10-second one-legged stance performance predicts survival in middle-aged and older individuals. British Journal of Sports Medicine.
About the authors
The Vitality Club is written by PhD researchers at Durham University, Marcus W, Camila G and Todd B, who turn new peer-reviewed health and longevity research into practical takeaways. This article is for education only and is not medical advice; talk to a qualified healthcare professional before changing your diet, exercise, supplements or medication.