Can any of us honestly say we don’t spend too much time online? Dr Amanda Ferguson in Cambridge’s MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit has these tips to help reduce our social media use, based on her work at the Digital Mental Health Research Programme:

Engage intentionally by adding friction. Our research on habit formation suggests that behaviours we want to reduce become easier to manage when they require more effort to initiate. Small barriers like removing apps from your home screen, logging out between sessions, or friction-based apps like One Sec break the automatic loop. By disrupting the immediate reward of quick access, you give yourself time to engage intentionally with social media, rather than defaulting to impulse.

Practise noticing your urge to use technology. There’s strong evidence that mindfulness-based strategies improve self-regulation, by increasing our awareness of internal cues before acting on them. Instead of automatically opening apps, pause to notice and name the emotion you feel and the associated urge. For example: “I feel bored, I want to check Instagram” creates a gap between the impulse and the behaviour. With time and practise, this gap gets larger, and our capacity to act intentionally - rather than automatically - grows.

Avoid online spaces that maximise social comparison. Research on social comparison consistently shows that comparing ourselves to others, particularly if we come out worse, is linked to lower self-esteem, mood difficulties, and increased anxiety.

Our own work indicates that young people with mental health difficulties may be particularly vulnerable to this in online environments. Because some platforms are specifically designed to highlight social status through the number of likes, views, and follower counts, it can help to approach these spaces cautiously. If you notice (see tip above) that certain apps routinely trigger comparison thoughts, it may be worth re-evaluating how, when, or whether you use them.

It may sound counterintuitive, but Dr Olivia Remes in Cambridge’s Department of Engineering says trying to be your best self all the time doesn’t always lead to better outcomes – and it can block you from solving your problems. She advises trying these tips to live a more satisfying life:

Stop trying to ‘self-optimise’. We’re living in the era of self-optimisation – doing everything we can to be our best self. This has been driven in large part by research that’s shown how tiny daily changes to your routine can have huge, cumulative effects in the long run, and social media influencers who have popularised the idea of ‘life hacks’. We’ve also become very aware of the importance of wellbeing, and advances in science have shown us ways to fine-tune ourselves. 

Self-optimisation is, no doubt, helpful in improving our habits, reaching personal milestones, and making us feel a sense of accomplishment along the way. The danger is when this gets out of hand - when consistently tracking the number of hours slept during the night or steps taken each day starts to take over your life. Being mindful of your actions and the reasons for them - the meaning behind it all - are key in helping you remain grounded and balanced.

Stop blocking out your problems. When some people are faced with difficulties in life, they turn to unhelpful ways of coping like self-blame, denial, and avoidance. Avoidance of stressful problems has been linked to depression and anxiety. It's harmful for wellbeing especially when the problems are within your control, such as making a doctor’s appointment or initiating a difficult conversation. So next time you’re faced with an issue, try brainstorming ways of resolving the situation or taking a small step forward, rather than blocking it out.

Letting go of perfectionism is key to this. When you stop trying to find the ‘best’ solution to a problem and let go of the need to be right, you realise it becomes easier to cope with and tolerate your own mistakes.

Stop always trying to win. If a problem really is beyond your control, it’s often helpful to turn to acceptance as a form of coping. Sometimes in life, relationships or friendships don’t work out, and there's nothing we can do to win the other person back. During these times, it may be tempting to keep chasing the friend or partner. But have you noticed that sometimes, the harder you work to please or win someone over, the further that person drifts away? In such circumstances, learn to lose - simply accept that the relationship or friendship has run its course, and just let go. Research has also shown that acceptance can act as a buffer against negative emotions and thoughts. 

Remes is author of 'The instant mood fix' and 'This is how you grow after trauma' (Penguin Random House).

Dr Hugo Fleming in Cambridge’s MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit studies how both physical and mental effort is related to our ability to regulate our energy levels. Try his tips to feel more energetic this year:

Stop sitting for hours at a time. We often think of mental and physical health as separate, but scientists are beginning to uncover how profoundly our physical health impacts the way the brain works.

Exercise is a powerful example – it's as effective as conventional antidepressant drugs for boosting mood. Exercise improves how your body regulates blood sugar and energy levels, including in the brain itself. Our research suggests this matters because the brain's reward and motivation circuits are sensitive to metabolic signals - they don't operate separately from our physical state. So if you're feeling low or unmotivated, exercise - even just going for a walk - can be really effective.

But also…stop obsessing over health statistics. Technology is often less reliable than the companies involved would like you to believe. In our research with continuous glucose monitors, we've found they’re less useful for healthy people during everyday use. Our responses to food are inherently quite variable, and unless you have diabetes, these fluctuations can obscure any meaningful patterns.

The illusion of precision can be worse than having no data. We can be swayed by our apps – if your watch says you slept poorly last night, this can change how you actually feel on waking up. It's often better to rely on your own bodily signals (hunger, thirst, tiredness) than wait for an app to tell you what to feel.

Prioritise eating a balanced diet. Research suggests that metabolic problems like type 2 diabetes can contribute to depression by changing how easily dopamine is released in the brain.

Dopamine is critical for learning and motivation, and our research has found that people who experience bigger blood sugar spikes after eating show differences in how they learn from rewards, which was linked to lower mood. The more you regulate your blood sugar through healthy eating, the more you support the brain systems that keep you feeling driven and enjoying life.

A sensible rule of thumb from food writer Michael Pollan is: 'eat whole foods, not too much, mostly plants.' Whole foods are less calorie dense and have more fibre, helping moderate blood sugar release throughout the day.

Are you someone who stays up late, goes to bed exhausted and then can’t sleep? Studies have shown that even one night of sleep deprivation can impair learning, and lack of sleep has also been linked to poorer physical and mental health, lower productivity at work, and more accidents. Over time, this can reduce our ability to manage stress and control our emotions.

Sleep is an active process where the brain reorganises and recharges itself, clears toxins, boosts our immune system, and consolidates memories. Professor Barbara Sahakian, in the Department of Psychiatry and a Fellow of Clare Hall, has these tips to help improve our sleep:

Create a good night-time routine that helps prepare you to fall asleep more easily. This includes going to bed on time in a relaxed state – try not to work late into the night or dwell on problems. Instead, read an enjoyable book, watch a light, happy movie, or think about a holiday where you were lying on the beach and listening to the sound of the ocean.

Try to consistently get seven to eight hours of sleep per night. Having a comfortable bed, and optimal room lighting and temperature will help. Sleep is known to be extremely important for children and adolescents, who need more sleep than adults, especially as their brains are still in development.

In one of our studies 3,200 adolescents were given FitBits to measure their sleep. We found that those who went to bed earliest and slept longest had larger brain volumes, and scored better on tests of attention, vocabulary, and reading. In another study with nearly half a million participants, we found that seven to eight hours of sleep each night is optimal for brain structure, cognition, and mental health in middle-aged and older adults.

If you don’t manage to get the right amount of sleep, get some exercise the next day, preferably outside in the fresh air. This can boost your energy during the day and help you sleep better that night. Our research has found that a healthy lifestyle can reduce the risk of depression by 57%. Among the seven lifestyle factors we considered, getting the right amount of sleep is the biggest protective factor.

Sahakian is co-author of 'Brain Boost: Healthy Habits for a Happier Life' (Cambridge University Press).