- Bryan Johnson completed a 40-hour social media fast and shared its benefits on X
- He reported six improvements including better sleep, mood, and mental clarity
- Johnson compared social media detox to overcoming food addiction patterns
Bryan Johnson, a renowned anti-ageing champion, recently completed a 40-hour social media fast. In a post on X, he shared the surprising results of this 'detox' on his mental and physical well-being. Johnson, who has been vocal about his strict health routines, described the experience as "a powerful longevity therapy". He mentioned that the time away showed him that social media has similar effects on his body and mind as junk food.
He listed 6 improvements that he noticed
- Calmed nervous system
- Improved sleep
- Enhanced exercise performance
- Boosted mental clarity
- Better mood
- Greater presence
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Johnson attributed these improvements to breaking the cycle of anticipation, reward, and guilt associated with social media use. He compared it to overcoming a food addiction, highlighting the need to detox from habitual behaviours.
"Watching myself detox from social media, the pattern reminded me of overcoming a food addiction. There was a time in my life where food dominated my cognition: the anticipation, reward, guilt. on repeat. And no matter how hard I tried, it felt impossible to stop," he wrote in the post.
"I eventually fired Evening Bryan, the version of me who overate between 5-10 pm. He couldn't eat food, no matter the situation. That single intervention collapsed the vicious cycle I was in and allowed me to build systems to avoid overeating entirely. Now I never think about food or have to experience the crushing guilt, shame and regret of unwanted behaviors."
He now plans to continue weekly social media breaks, encouraging others to join him.
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Social media reaction
Johnson's experiment has sparked conversations about screen time and mental health, with the post reaching more than 236,000 viewers. Hundreds of users commented in it.
"I have been doing digital detoxes once a week. It's extremely therapeutic. I hike, go on day trips and enjoy nature. I give myself one hour of scrolling a day for all social media. If it falls out of the hour then it will be answered tomorrow," one user wrote.
"What surprised me most about your experience is the sleep improvement - makes me wonder if it's the blue light exposure or the mental stimulation before bed that's more disruptive. Did you notice the sleep benefits right away or take a day or two?" another curious user asked.
