Unplug and Reconnect Announces Labor Day 2011 Contest

NEW YORK, Sept. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- For the past two summers, Unplug and Reconnect (U&R) has issued the Unplugging and Reconnecting Challenge, encouraging people to turn off their technology and reconnect with their family, friends and with themselves. Labor Day Weekend is the last chance to take three straight days to truly Unplug!

As tempting as it is to catch up on your Facebook newsfeed, stock up on smartphone apps or attempt to get the Angry Birds' high score on your iPad, Unplug and Reconnect challenges you to unplug from your entire collection of technology devices — even if for only a few hours.

"To many, the Tuesday after Labor Day is to the symbolic end of summer what Monday is to the weekend," notes Dr. Joseph Geliebter, clinical psychologist and CEO of Unplug and Reconnect. "During the summer, we take vacations and naturally Unplug and Reconnect – some are encouraged to dress down, while others enjoy early Fridays, as we do in our organization.

"Unfortunately, the tranquil pace of summer dramatically changes after Labor Day, when a 'nose to the grindstone' mindset takes over. Some of us get anxious on Labor Day just as we get anxious on Sunday nights," said Dr. Geliebter. "Research has shown that our blood pressure spikes on Monday mornings – something that causes a significant increase in heart attacks. Imagine what the seasonal shift that occurs on Labor Day can do!"

U&R invites everyone to take one last look back at summer and participate in its Labor Day Essay Contest. Write a brief essay telling us how you Unplugged and Reconnected during the summer or over the Labor Day weekend. Details can be found at www.unplugreconnect.com.

The top two Essays will be featured on the www.UnplugReconnect.com blog in September. Winners will also receive their choice of a LoTech™ Survival Kit:

• LoTech Camping Survival Kit: Tent, two sleeping bags, lantern, and cooler
• LoTech Luxury Survival Kit: Sumptuous dinner for two with wine and a luxury bath kit, including candles
• LoTech Family Night Survival Kit: Family dinner for 4, make your own dessert ingredients, and four board games
• LoTech Getaway Survival Kit: $200 JetBlue Certificate and one Carry On Luggage with U&R Luggage Tag

Submissions should be sent to [email protected] by September 6. The first essays have started coming in. Lori from Alabama noted how her broken iPod led her to finally notice the 'beautiful sounds of the city' – and avoid a near stumble down a manhole!

And the challenges to disconnect to reconnect continue! Ohr Naava, a nonprofit Brooklyn based women's organization – a place for women of all ages to connect and feel connected – has designated Sunday, October 2, as the "Day to Disconnect." Unplug & Reconnect has partnered with Ohr Naava to help achieve their goal of raising 1,000,000 Unplugging hours on October 2. Look forward to details after the Labor Day contest. Check out the Day to Disconnect inspirational video at www.unplugreconnect.com or http://bit.ly/qpW5Dc.

About Unplugging and Reconnecting™

Unplugging and Reconnecting™, a Mind Over Body® Inc. enterprise, was created in response to our current state of digital overload. U&R is leading the movement for people to find a balance between their technology-laden, multitasking selves and their creative, emotional and spiritual needs — to benefit from one while sustaining the other.

Unplugging and Reconnecting launched its first challenges in July 2010 http://prn.to/cnjAFb and August 2010 http://prn.to/iuAFxl.

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