More and more people are coming to iSlow who identify as having some form of neurodiversity — or who simply feel that their brain doesn’t quite fit in with the pace the world demands of them. They work from home, or from noisy cafés, or from co-working spaces full of screens. Their mobile phones are always close at hand. The notifications never stop. They sleep poorly. They struggle to concentrate. They feel lonely even though they’re ‘connected’ all day long.
What they have in common is this: their nervous system is trying to survive in an environment for which it was not designed.
The problem isn't the technology. It's that it has taken over everything else.
We spend an average of seven hours a day in front of screens. Social media platforms are designed by teams of engineers whose job is to make sure we can’t stop scrolling. Every like, every notification, every update triggers a small rush of dopamine — the neurotransmitter associated with anticipation and reward.
The problem is that when we stimulate the dopaminergic system constantly, cheaply and artificially, the brain adapts: the threshold rises. It needs more to feel the same. And the things that used to give us real satisfaction — finishing a project, going for a walk, having a long conversation — start to seem boring or unsatisfying.
For neurodivergent people, who already have fundamentally different dopamine regulation, this effect is amplified. But the reality is that today’s hyperconnected environment is causing symptoms of dysregulation in people who would never have experienced difficulties in a different context.
The brain isn’t broken. It’s responding exactly as it should to an environment that demands too much of the wrong kind.
Connected to everything. Truly alone.
There is another paradox in all this: we have never had so many ways of communicating, and yet levels of loneliness are at an all-time high. A WHO study published in 2023 described loneliness as a global public health epidemic.
Digital connection cannot replace face-to-face interaction. Our nervous system needs signals that screens cannot provide: physical contact, body language, shared silence, eating together, and the presence of someone who looks you in the eye without also staring at their mobile phone.
When these signals are chronically absent, the emotional regulation system operates in a state of constant alert. Hypervigilance, difficulty relaxing, insomnia and irritability are not character flaws. They are responses from a nervous system that has not felt safe for far too long.
What happens when you change your surroundings?
When someone arrives at iSlow, the first few days are usually a period of adjustment. The pace is different. It’s quiet. There’s nature. There are other people, but without the social pressure of having to be ‘on’ all the time.
And something is starting to change.
Not all at once. But quite consistently.
Sleep improves. The mind stops going round in circles. The ability to focus on a single thing for a while returns. The body remembers that it can move without a specific goal — a walk, a swim in the sea, cooking something slowly.
From a neuroscientific perspective, this makes sense. Contact with nature reduces cortisol levels and activates the parasympathetic nervous system — the ‘rest and digest’ mode that we so rarely use. Natural light regulates the circadian rhythm. Moderate, regular physical activity is one of the most effective dopamine regulators there is. Genuine social connection — shared meals, conversations without an agenda — activates the oxytocin system.
It’s not magic. It’s basic biology, which is very difficult to sustain in a hyper-connected urban environment.
Coliving isn’t a getaway. It’s a laboratory
This is the part we’re most keen to tell you about.
iSlow isn’t a digital detox retreat. People work here. They have meetings, deadlines and projects. Life goes on as normal — but in a different setting.
And that is exactly what makes it useful in the long run.
Because when you manage to keep your job and stay productive whilst you sleep well, get some exercise, eat with others and spend time away from screens, your brain learns something important: that it is possible to function like this. Not as an exception. As the norm.
The habits introduced here — going for a walk in the morning before turning on your computer, eating without your mobile phone, setting aside an hour a day without screens, talking to someone about something other than work — are not luxuries. They are ways of regulating the nervous system that anyone can maintain, with a few adjustments, once they’re back to their normal routine.
Co-living acts as a training ground. A place where the environment makes it easier to achieve what, in the city, requires sheer willpower.
Who is this particularly relevant for?
If any of these statements ring true for you, this article (and perhaps iSlow) is for you:
- You work remotely and are finding it increasingly difficult to separate your working hours from your personal time.
- You identify with some form of neurodiversity — whether or not you have a formal diagnosis — and the current environment is making your difficulties even worse.
- You feel as though you’re always busy but never feel rested.
- Do you find it hard to concentrate for more than 20 minutes without checking your mobile?
- You miss the feeling of belonging, of being part of a real community.
You don’t need to have all this sorted out before you come. In fact, it works better when you haven’t.
A reset isn't a luxury. It's maintenance.
Cars are taken to the garage before they break down. Computers are restarted. Gardens are pruned.
The human nervous system also needs looking after. And looking after it is not a sign of weakness, nor is it unproductive or an escape from reality. It is what enables us to keep functioning well in the long term.
If you feel like you’ve been in survival mode for a while, perhaps what you need isn’t yet another productivity app or yet another mindfulness podcast to listen to whilst multitasking.
Perhaps you need a change of scenery, even if only for a short while.
The rest will follow naturally.
