For many of us, a cell phone has almost become a part of us. They’re almost always at arm’s reach (or closer), offering a 24/7 helpful distraction from boredom or otherwise uncomfortable emotions and situations.

Before you leave home, check you’ve got your keys, your wallet, and your phone. Stuck in a line to checkout? Check your phone.

Waiting for your food in a restaurant? Commercials have come on again? Trip to the bathroom? Phone. Phone. Phone.

Psychologists have for some time been warning of the concerning psychological impacts of doom-scrolling, from the mental health impacts of comparing your own life to that of others for hours a day, to the issues that the constant bombardment of information is causing with our attention spans.

According to a new study from psychologists and marketing experts, the impacts of reducing your time spent online is staggering.

Professor Adrian Ward from Texas McCombs explained in a statement about the research that constant cell phone use has been vastly detrimental to our mental and physical health:

“Smartphones have drastically changed our lives and behaviors over the past 15 years, but our basic human psychology remains the same. Our big question was, are we adapted to deal with constant connection to everything all the time? The data suggest that we are not.”

More than just exemplifying the negative ramifications on our health, the results from the study – which has been recently published in the journal PNAS Nexus – makes a case for ditching our pocket-access to the internet altogether.

With a trial group of 467 participants, Ward’s research team – which included experts from universities across the US – blocked access to the internet on each of the participants’ smartphones. Thanks to an app installed on their devices, the participants were only able to access text messages and calls, much like the so-called ‘dumb phones’ that paved the way for 24/7 access through pocket-sized devices.

Half of the participants had their internet access blocked for two weeks, whereas the other half were unable to access the internet on their phones for four weeks – though they were still able to use the internet on computers.

The researchers monitored participants’ mental health, well-being, and attention span – and the results were staggering across the board. 91% of participants found an improvement in at least one of the three factors, with a 71% increase in mental health during the trial throughout both groups.

The most alarming thing about the trial?

Most of the participants couldn’t hack it. An incredible 43% of participants didn’t make it past the app installation stage, such was their horror at not being able to access the internet on their phones for two weeks. And of the groups that did partake in the trial, only 25% were able to stick it out for two weeks, showing the state of our addiction to our smartphones.

For those who did manage to go the length of the study though, the rewards were abundant, as Ward continues:

“Rather than watching more TV or movies, they increased time spent in the offline world. That’s doing hobbies, talking to people face-to-face, or going out in nature. They got more sleep, felt more socially connected, and felt more in control of their own decisions.”

The real take-home from this? The longer you can spend away from your smartphone, the better – for your emotional, physical, and mental health.

If you think that’s impressive, check out this story about a “goldmine” of lithium that was found in the U.S. that could completely change the EV battery game.