Akademik

n.

The deliberate avoidance of all forms of news media, particularly to relieve stress and relax the mind. Also: newsfasting.

—news fast, newsfast n.

In his bestselling book 8 Weeks to Optimum Health, [Andrew] Weil sets out a programme of eating, exercising and living that will "take full advantage of your body's natural healing power". Each week he includes extra things to concentrate on, from eating broccoli and ginger to "news fasting" — taking a day off from newspapers, TV and radio that bring "in" bad information.

—"Anyone who recommends walking as their favourite form of exercise and olive oil for cooking is talking sense," The Times (London), June 24, 2006

The experts also suggest limiting your exposure to news coverage. "Obviously, we all want to be informed citizens," Ellen Leibenluft, a physician at the National Institute of Mental Health, says. "But the other thing is to titrate the amount of brain time people spend on this." If you find news fasting too much to bear, Erica Wise, a clinical psychologist and associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has this advice: read or listen, but don't watch. "It does seem that the visual medium is a little more intense," she cautions.

—Sarah Graham, "9/11: The Psychological Aftermath," Scientific American, November 12, 2001

I eat fresh broccoli regularly. I pop vitamin C tablets. I'm trying to establish a routine for exercise walking since I've had to give up running. I even bring flowers home occasionally.

But engage in a "news fast"? No sir! That would be difficult, to say the least, for a newspaperman. I could try news fasting when I retire this spring, but the idea of cutting myself off from the world around me by not reading, watching or listening to any news is unacceptable, not to mention downright distasteful.

—Bob Henderson, "Doctor's 'news fast' would be no tonic," St. Petersburg Times, December 6, 1996

Thanks to Kerry Maxwell of Macmillan English Dictionaries: http://www.macmillandictionary.com/med-magazine/September2006/42-New-Word.htm for brining this great phrase to my attention.