'Turn them off! Turn them off and leave them off! Turn them off right in the middle of this sent-'

Why are you so tired? If technology makes it easier and more convenient to keep up with the flow of information, why are you mentally exhausted? 

Obvious answer: Because we don’t get a flow of information, we get a tsunami. Ten tsunamis of data coming at us from all directions at once. 

The hunters and gatherers have evolved into multi-taskers. The difference is that human ancestors hunted and gathered in order to survive. Some multi-tasking is essential in contemporary life, but you can’t blame all of it on your job or your monster boss. Mostly you do it to yourself. 

Do you really have to update your Facebook status, listen to your latest downloads, and send out Tweets (“Wow, it’s so traffic I’ll be late”) in the car while waiting for the light to change? 

It is unthinkable for you to leave the house without your smartphone. You have to stay in touch at all times, in case your patient needs emergency neurosurgery. In case the office calls to reset a meeting. In case an asteroid is hurtling towards the earth. In case your ex decides to come crawling back to you. In case your five-year-old wants to get a tattoo of a double-thumbed fist holding a peyote button and the words “Hunter Thompson lives.” 

In case your favorite shop goes on sale. In case Something Happens. Something, anything, please happen so I don’t get bored. Boredom is the fate worse than death.

Look at you, checking your phone every few minutes. You can’t even wait for it to ring, you can’t bear the thought that you’re missing out on something. And since your phone can surf the Internet from anywhere, you have to check your alerts for the latest world-shaking event. Can’t be left out! 

You need to feel efficient and productive, maximizing all available resources. Every minute of the day must be put to good use; downtime is a no-no. Can’t do nothing!

Unfortunately your brain is crying for downtime. According to a slew of studies reported in the New York Times, downtime  time spent doing nothing  is vital for learning. When you’re (apparently) not doing anything, your brain reviews your recent experiences in its short-term memory inbox and moves them to your long-term permanent memory storage. So you remember better, think more clearly, and come up with new ideas. 

Constant stimulus  New video clip! Plants vs. Zombies! Cafe World! Friend request! New app to organize your life!  leads to fatigue.

That is why you’re so tired.

But playing video games relaxes me, you say. No, actually, that stimuli on top of the barrage of stimuli you get from living in a big city tires your brain. Mobile software developers are now competing for the little bits of time left over from your daily activities. Your moments are all accounted for; now they want your micro-moments.

You want real relaxation, you take a walk someplace quiet and serene. Okay, not in Metro Manila. 

Take a nap. This is not as easy as it sounds. To be able to fall asleep, you need to not think of checking your phone, answering your e-mail, and all the things you could be doing instead of sleeping. Good luck. 

You forwarded the article about the brain needing downtime to friends who are also tired. They e-mailed you back with thanks... Sent from my iPad, Sent from my BlackBerry. You find this funny, until it occurs to you how you found the article and sent it.

Which brings us to useful information. Your e-mail has so much storage space, you don’t ever have to delete a message again. So you save every message. You have a record of everything, you efficient tech user, you. There are a thousand web articles and alerts in your e-mail, and you tell yourself you will get around to reading them. Can’t delete, they might be life-changing!

You think they’ll just sit there, but they’re weighing on you. “I really should clear my inbox,” you say, “I just don’t have the time.” So you keep them around to remind you of what you should be doing. 

Who did this to you? You did.

You feel like you’ve been playing five sets of tennis a day, but you haven’t been anywhere near a court. But you have been watching 20 sets of tennis a day thanks to live US Open coverage. You could watch the full replay later, but what kind of tennis fan would you be if you didn’t see the action live? With the difference in time zones it means you’ve given yourself jet lag without leaving your house. 

You’re so used to high-speed connections that you expect people to be the same. Waiter, where’s my order? Why don’t you know the answer, didn’t you Google it? We met a week ago, why aren’t we in love yet? Why can’t you come up with the solution now? I texted you three minutes ago, why have you still not replied?

You’re afraid to disconnect because you’re on a plan that allows for unlimited usage, and if you don’t use it as much as you can, lugi ka (you’re not getting what you paid for).

So you’re tired. The solution is obvious: you could take a rest from the information multi-tsunamis. Disconnect yourself after 9 p.m., or maybe for one day a week. (But what if something happens at the office and that toad is there to snatch up the promotion I’ve worked so hard for?) Allow yourself some downtime for brain maintenance.

Do you dare unplug? Really? You go first.