The One Setting That Can Break Your Doomscroll Habit

A simple tweak in your phone’s display could be the secret to reclaiming your time and peace of mind.

Last week, we talked about revenge bedtime procrastination, why it happens and how to put a stop to it, even if it feels daunting. The most effective, science-backed hack I have found to stop your late night scrolling habit in its tracks is to switch your phone to grayscale mode.

When you toggle off your phone’s display from saturated colors to black and white mode, you’re sending a reset signal to your brain. Studies show that grayscaling your phone can lower your screen time, decrease your reliance on your devices, and give you a greater sense of control. One marketing executive, Mack Mckelvey, compared it to perusing the cereal aisle of your supermarket, “You don’t buy black and white cereal boxes. You buy the really stimulating colorful ones.” Your late night scrolling habit is essentially sugar-laden cereal for your brain.

The Science Behind Grayscale

Grayscale helps you stop doomscrolling because your phone becomes a lot less interesting. But why? The rainbow-colored screen with its bright hues stimulates your brain’s reward pathway, which keeps you scrolling and craving more stimulation. Switching your phone’s display to grayscale dials down the stimulation factor almost immediately, making scrolling less enticing and less addictive. Patients have described it to me “like a breath of fresh air for my stressed brain.”

When you grayscale your phone, you see late night scrolling for what it is– an endlessly unproductive loop that’s stealing your rest and keeping your stuck in a pattern of late bedtimes against your better judgement.

How to Grayscale Your Phone:

When you’ve finished your tasks for the day and are getting ready for your late night scroll session, follow these prompts to grayscale your phone:

Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Color filters > Grayscale

You’ll notice an immediate effect. While you may be tempted to keep your phone on grayscale all the time, you’ll soon notice that you can’t use your phone effectively when it’s in grayscale mode since most of its features are color-dependent. The best times to switch to grayscale at in the evenings during late night scrolling or during the day during times of deep work and focus. If you’re advanced, you can even program a shortcut to go directly to grayscale using your action button prompts.

This week’s reset: Switch your phone to grayscale for one scrolling session to test its effectiveness. Your stressed brain will thank you, and your sleep and productivity will too. I can’t wait to hear how it goes for you!

Until next week,

Dr. Aditi Nerurkar