How addicted to your phone are you? Take our quiz and find out

Checking our phones constantly is an easy habit to slip into. You think to yourself: "I'll just quickly see if I have any messages."

Before you know it, you've lost 20 minutes scrolling through your Instagram feed.

If this sounds familiar, there's a chance that you've become addicted to your phone.

Read more articles related to wellbeing:

• How to use colour to boost your wellbeing
• Am I lonely? Take our quiz to find out
• Form new habits the Japanese way using shukanka

A survey by Deloitte in 2018 found that 38% of people felt that they used their phones too much.

A third of respondents said that they checked their phones within five minutes of waking up in the morning. Worryingly, 11% admitted to using their phones even when crossing the road!

Take our quiz to find out just how bad your device addiction is and read on to find out how you can take a digital detox…

How to cut down your phone usage

If you're passively scrolling on your phone, are you really enjoying what you're eating or your company? Putting the phone away means that your friends and food will have your full attention.

It can be easy to slip into the habit of checking your phone before you go to sleep or first thing in the morning. If you're using it as an alarm, get an alarm clock instead.

The blue light emitted from your phone's screen will also make it harder for you to go to sleep.

This one is harder than it sounds. It requires a lot of willpower to break the habit of checking your device and you may need to find yourself other activities to occupy your time – such as reading or cooking.

Facebook and Instagram will now tell you how much time you're spending using their apps. If you find that the answer is a shock to the system, it might be worth deleting the apps from your phone for a short time – see if you miss them.

Do you really need to bring your phone with you everywhere you go? Try leaving it at home when you go out for a walk or to meet a friend for coffee.

You'll soon feel more relaxed!

As we mentioned before, phones can disrupt your sleep patterns, meaning that you don't get the rest you need.

Try setting yourself a phone curfew – say an hour before you go to bed – to help you sleep better.

Phones today are nearly as good as cameras – and sometimes better. But using your phone as a camera means that you're checking it far more than you need to.

If you're going out somewhere, try digging out your old camera and bringing that with you instead.

Photos by rawpixel and Paul Hanaoka on Unsplash