Experiment reveals 7 shocking effects smartphones have on the brain and what happens when you stop using them

TV presenters, and married couple, Emma and Matt Willis have taken part in an experiment that reveals seven shocking side effects of smartphones - All in their new documentary for Channel 4.

With all of the features available at our fingertips, it’s no wonder that our smartphones are never far from our side.

In fact, many of us even sleep with our devices next to our pillows.

But this experiment has uncovered just how detrimental the overuse of our phones can be.

In a new Channel 4 documentary titled Swiped: The School that Banned Smartphones, experts study students as they spend three weeks without their phones.

Presenters Matt and Emma Willis, who are the hosts of Love Is Blind UK, took part in the experiment by also giving up their phones for 21 days.

There some shocking truths around the effect smartphones have on our brains were uncovered.

The children involved were studied using a series of cognitive tasks which tested their attention, reaction times and memory.

It was found that overuse of a smartphone can impact things like sleep, mood and social connectedness and can cause anxiety and depression.

During the experiment, Dr Rangan Chatterjee found that the kids were getting one hour extra of sleep a night without their phones.

He also warned other studies have found that an overuse of smartphones is leading to people losing grey matter in their brains, which is an essential type of tissue.

Grey matter is found in the brain and spinal cord, and it plays an important role in mental functions, memory, movement and emotions.

Dr Chatterjee said: “The increasing use of technology has insidiously crept into every part of our children’s lives, including their school life.

Everyone - parents, teachers, schools etc, want what is best for our children, but, as a society, I really feel we have allowed technology to infiltrate our children’s lives without proper thought.

“I think this is likely to have major negative consequences for children and society at large. For me, this is one of the most urgent societal issues of our time. And this experiment is critically important to kick-start a national conversation about what is actually appropriate and helpful for our children.

“We need to know which aspects of technology use can help our children and which aspects are in fact harming them.”

Professor Lisa Henderson and Dr Emma Sullivan, who are lead researchers from the Sleep Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of York added: “The extreme total ban approach we are taking in this first-of-its kind experiment will allow us to reveal what giving up a smartphone does to young peoples’ wellbeing, how it affects their sleep, their cognitive abilities and the alertness of their brains.

“Studies that can address causality are a critical piece of the puzzle that we need to better understand the psychological costs and benefits of smartphones, so we can protect our young people, empower parents to create safe worlds for their children, and be in a stronger position to campaign for the appropriate safeguards and legislation to be put in place.”