A Beginner’s Guide to Digital Fasting: Five Lessons Learned from an Intermittent Fasting Lifestyle

I was recently introduced to the lifestyle of intermittent fasting (IF). IF is a voluntary eating pattern that cycles between periods of fasting and non-fasting over a certain period of time. While there are numerous resources and plans available, I read two books by Gin Stephens: Delay, Don’t Deny and Fast. Feast. Repeat.

The same week I read the books, I co-hosted a discussion about digital boundaries on Instagram. Digital boundaries, according to Dr. John Townsend, are “property lines designed to optimize the positives and minimize the negatives of the digital world.” Digital fasting (otherwise known as digital detox or digital Sabbath) is an extension of digital boundaries or digital minimalism, where someone voluntarily and intentionally stops using all Internet-connected devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, computers, TV’s, etc. for a certain amount of time. You can disconnect for a certain number of hours per day, for a whole day, or longer.

While there is some debate around the addictive nature of our devices, a digital fast is a great option to help us become more mindful of our impulses to check our screens, engage in the “analog” activities we enjoy, and regain a sense of perspective outside the bubble of e-mail, social media, or our favorite Netflix shows.

By looking at how people successfully fast from food as part of an IF lifestyle, we can better understand the why and how behind digital fasting. Here are five lessons that I have learned:

1. Our ancestors were not constantly surrounded by food (or the Internet!) and we were never designed for constant exposure.

Our bodies were designed to be able to go without food for an extended period of time as part of the hunting and gathering process. Therefore, our ancestors could easily tap into their fat stores because they weren’t constantly feeding themselves. Now food is ubiquitous, available 24 hours a day to your doorstep or just a drive-thru away. Food is convenient and delicious (and low-quality) food is cheap which makes it even more enticing.

Similarly, Internet-enabled devices were not part of our ancestors’ lives. Now we are surrounded by them, and the Internet it is available 24 hours a day, an easy reach and click away. The ease of access makes fasting from food and our devices difficult, because they are around us at all times. 

2. Our bodies are a complex system of hormones, neurotransmitters, and other chemicals. A constant influx of anything (in this case, food or technology) causes disruptions in how they function.

When we eat, blood glucose levels rise, and our pancreas releases the hormone insulin. Depending on the amount of glucose, insulin can help the body use it or stored the rest in our liver, muscles, and fat cells. 

If we are constantly consuming food and drink (in the form of snacks, sugary drinks, meals, etc.), our bodies are releasing insulin all day long. This can, in turn, disrupt leptin and ghrelin (our main satiety and hunger hormones). In other words, a constant stream of insulin doesn’t allow our bodies to function like they were designed.

Similarly, when we use technology, specifically social media where we have an intermittent reward system due to positive social interactions (likes, follows, comments, etc.), dopamine is released within the brain.

Because of the variable nature of this reward system (otherwise known as variable reward schedules), we don’t know when we will receive the reward. As this article explains, “If we perceive a reward to be delivered at random, and if checking for the reward comes at little cost, we end up checking habitually.” 

We were never designed to have the reward center of our brain constantly releasing dopamine, or to constantly behave in response to the possibility of a dopamine hit. Similar to our hunger and satiety hormones, too much dopamine can overstimulate our brain’s reward centers so that they no longer work properly, and in extreme cases can lead to addiction.

3. During fasting, our bodies are able to repair inflamed and damaged cells.

In a fasted state, our bodies are freed up to make necessary repairs because they aren’t dealing with digestion or managing insulin. In fact, they do something pretty amazing called autophagy. Gin Stephens describes it this way in Feast.Fast.Repeat: “Autophagy transforms our bodies’ by-products, waste materials, useless, or unwanted products into new materials or products of better quality and environmental value!” In other words, cellular upcycling.

With technology, a digital fast allows our brains and bodies to rest. We can “repair” our relationships by being more present and focused when devices aren’t interfering. We can revisit the “analog” activities that we enjoy, get back in touch with nature, and realign our activities with our values. We can also rest our eyes from hours of harmful blue light!

4. Intermittent fasting can be done in a variety of ways to fit your schedule and lifestyle. The focus is on when you eat, rather than what you eat necessarily. But higher-quality foods are always your best option when you’re not fasting.

The two main protocols for intermittent fasting are a daily eating window and a up-and-down-day approach.

As Stephens explains, a daily eating window “reduces daily decision fatigue. At any given moment, your window is either open or it’s closed.” Most benefits can be found with a fasting window of at least 16 hours, according to Stephens. Popular options are a 16:8 (16 hours fasting, 8 hour eating window), 18:6, 20:4, or even 23:1.

Conversely, the up-and-down-day approach means that you have some days where you eat (up) and some where you fast (down). A popular option for this is a 5:2 – five days eating, two days fasting.

When it comes to a digital fast, you may decide to similarly use a time window approach where you schedule when you will do certain online activities within a day. The point is to be intentional about how you are using your devices. This may mean scheduling when you check e-mail, social media, or even watching Netflix. And if a time is outside your window? You don’t engage in those activities. Your window is closed. Period.

iPhone users can use features like Downtime or App Limits (found under Settings- Screen Time) to help manage this on their phones. Also, the upcoming iOS 15 iPhone software update includes Focus Mode, which filters notifications and apps based on your context (work, before bed, etc.) and what you want to focus on at that time.

An up-and-down day approach may look like taking a digital sabbath over the weekend (5 days on, 2 days off or 5:2). I have been doing this with Instagram and I find that especially within the minimalism community, it is a common practice. For full-day digital fasts, you can put your phone in Airplane Mode and keep it and other devices in a designated place for the day.

In his book Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World, author Cal Newport proposes a 30-day digital declutter where you “step away from optional online activities for thirty days.” (You decide what “optional” actually means at the beginning). Then you add activities back in an intentional way after the 30 days, kind of like an elimination diet for technology). Similar to eating high-quality foods during your eating window or “up” days, you want to add digital activities that add immense value to your life. Fasting allows you to determine your values around technology and find the best options to align with those values.

5. Over time, intermittent fasting allows your body to reach appetite correction, where you are in tune with your body’s appetite signals.

Our bodies will tell us when we’re actually hungry (not just bored, lonely, upset, etc.) and when we’ve had enough to eat, if we are truly listening. The problem is that we often mistake these signals or completely ignore them, which causes us to have an unhealthy relationship with food. If you grew up as part of the “clean your plate club” you’ve experienced this.

According to Stephens, an IF lifestyle allows you to regulate your hunger and satiety hormones, allowing you to more easily eat until satisfied even within a restricted window. She mentions that in Okinawa, Japan, there is a concept of “hara hachi bu” which means “eat until 80 percent full.”

Similarly when it comes to our devices, a digital fast can help us get back in touch with our values and move forward with technology in a more mindful way. If you’ve ever gone down a TikTok rabbit hole or have looked up from YouTube to be shocked by the time, you know the disoriented and slightly disgusted feeling. We have “stuffed” ourselves with media consumption. What if, instead, using the timed or up-and-down approaches, we only get 80% “full” during the times we’ve designated? Our relationship with technology will be far healthier.

When it comes to digital fasting: delay, don’t deny

Gin Stephen’s first book about IF is titled Delay, Don’t Deny with a simple premise: fasting is not about denying yourself certain foods or labeling them “good” or “bad”, but understanding that delaying eating and increasing our fasting time can have several health benefits. Similarly, when we delay our desire to check our devices “real quick”, it can be done with the understanding that we will intentionally use our technology at a later time. We don’t label social media, apps, or e-mail as “evil” but instead focus on intentional, rather than compulsive use of our devices.

The benefits of a digital fast are numerous, but one of the biggest is the way digital minimalists view their time differently. As Newport writes, “Many minimalists will describe a phenomenon in which digital habits that they previously felt to be essential to their daily schedule suddenly seemed frivolous once they became more intentional about what they did with their time. When the void is filled, you no longer need distractions to help you avoid it.”

Like everything else, starting small is the best way to get started. Gradually scale back your usage to certain times or days, increase the friction between you and mindless scrolling by using your phone’s Screen Time settings, and always remember your why! You may find that the online activities you once thought were necessary are digital “junk food”, in comparison to higher-quality activities that you enjoy far more than mindless scrolling.

If you struggle with mindless consumption (of food or technology), you may need a mindset shift (or two) to help you let go and live without. In my free workbook, I take you through five mindset shifts including Mindless Consumer vs. Intentional Advocate.