Spending just one hour less on a smartphone each day can significantly reduce depression, anxiety and problematic phone use over a period of several months, according to new research from Germany. The findings were published in Acta Psychologica.
The study, conducted by researchers at Ruhr University Bochum, followed 194 adults over six months after a short two-week intervention. Participants who cut their daily smartphone use by 60 minutes showed lasting improvements in their mental health and well-being compared to those who continued their normal habits.
The findings are particularly relevant given how central smartphones have become to daily life. Previous research has estimated that between 20% and 61% of people globally may be affected by problematic smartphone use, a pattern linked to poor sleep, lower productivity, and declining psychological well-being.
Participants in the reduction group reported lower levels of fear of missing out, a phenomenon described as the persistent worry that others are having more rewarding experiences. This reduction became statistically significant three months after the intervention and continued through to the six-month mark, suggesting the benefits are not merely short-lived.
Depression scores followed a similar pattern. Those who reduced their screen time showed meaningfully lower depressive symptoms one, three and six months after the intervention period ended. The control group, which made no changes to their phone habits, showed no such improvements at any point during the study.
One of the more striking findings concerns the reasons people reach for their phones in the first place. Participants who reduced their use became less likely to turn to their smartphones as a way of seeking positive emotions or escaping negative ones. Researchers suggest this indicates that short-term behaviour change can shift deeper emotional habits over time.
The researchers believe the changes may be partly explained by self-efficacy: once participants demonstrated to themselves that they could stick to a reduced usage target, they gained confidence in their ability to maintain those habits. Positive reinforcement may also have played a role, as people began to notice genuine improvements in their mood and daily life.
The study used a randomised controlled design, which means it is able to suggest a causal relationship rather than simply a correlation. This makes it relatively rare in this field of research, where most studies have relied on self-reported surveys or observational data that cannot establish cause and effect.
The authors acknowledge some limitations. The sample was predominantly female and drawn largely from German university students, which may affect how broadly the results apply. Smartphone use was also self-reported rather than tracked objectively, and researchers note it is possible some participants substituted phone use with other digital devices such as laptops or tablets.
Even so, the findings point to a straightforward and low-cost strategy for addressing some of the most common mental health complaints seen in clinical settings today. Clinicians may find value in raising smartphone use as part of routine assessments for depression and anxiety.