Thermae.com – being offline

No fewer than one in three Belgian people feel restless when they don’t have their mobile phone on them. On average, we hold our phones about nine hours a day. No surprise then that being offline now and then is vitally important!

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This (perceived) need to be constantly available causes huge pressure. You feel as if you have to reply to work emails or follow the WhatsApp group of your friends 24/7. The result? You become agitated and stressed. News flash: the world really doesn’t stop turning when you put your phone away for a couple of hours now and again.

Doing so will actually help you sleep better and make you feel calmer. What’s more, people who stare at screens all the time are more likely to suffer from neck and back pain after a while.

Some tips for at home

Put a nice little box in the hallway and get everyone to put their mobile phones in it the minute they come through the door. With the device out of sight, you are less likely to pick it up.

Or you could agree that you all switch your phones to airplane mode for a couple of hours, for instance. That way, you can spend real quality time talking to each over or having fun together in the evening instead of scrolling through your social media.

Or how about having a designated ‘unplugged room’, one room in your home where mobile phones, tablets etc. are banned?

With a little bit of creativity, you are bound to find a solution that suits your family!

In our sauna centre

Our saunas and wellness areas are the perfect places to unplug for a while. After all, the use of smartphones and other digital devices has been prohibited for quite some time here. These devices belong at home, in your car or in your locker in the changing rooms. This policy allows us to provide a peaceful, calm environment in our wellness centre, while at the same time safeguarding the privacy of all our customers.

That said, we have recently introduced sauna-proof stickers for e-readers. For many people, reading a good book is part of a day of relaxation. And, because we have noticed that more and more of you are using e-readers instead of reading paper books, we developed this sticker. It is given to anyone who has had their e-reader checked at reception (to ensure the device has no camera on it) to put on their e-reader. That way, other customers can instantly see that their privacy won’t be violated when they are near your electronic device.