Nothing is as relaxing as sleeping next to your phone. It’s there to entertain you before bed. There are soothing rain sounds to play. And it’s there to wake you up in the morning.
But for all the positives that a piece of metal brings as it rests gently against your pillow or nightstand, there are various negative ways to have your phone next to you as you sleep.
There are many studies that have shown that using your phone right before bed leads to sleep problems, including making it difficult to fall asleep. This is partly due to how stimulating text, scrolling and reading is. So even if you’re just lying in bed calmly scanning inspirational photos, you’re still using your brain and engaging in ways that usually don’t support sleep.
Having your phone nearby when you fall asleep also makes it more likely that you’ll quickly check work emails, get caught up in a group text, or fall down the rabbit hole. Additionally, “tracking activity on your phone can increase the pressure to be available 24/7,” Rose MacDowell, a sleep expert and chief researcher at Sleepopolis, a sleep review and tips site, told Bustle. And that can result in stress that makes drifting even harder.
Even worse, according to studies, is the annoying blue light coming from the screen. “When you look at your phone, it emits blue light that prevents your body from producing melatonin,” Ibinye Osibodu-Onyali, LMFT, licensed marriage and family therapist and owner of The Zinnia Practice, tells Bustle.
“Melatonin is a hormone that regulates sleep and allows you to rest refreshingly.” Without it, you might find yourself lying awake for hours (perhaps with your phone in hand) or waking up feeling groggy.
That’s why Osibodu-Onyali recommends putting down your phone about an hour before you go to bed to give your body enough time to produce melatonin. Breaking this habit can be tricky, but if you slowly replace playing with your phone with non-screen activities like reading a book or a relaxing hobby, you’ll likely notice a big difference in your sleep.
But even if you’re someone who doesn’t look at your phone much at night, having it around can still be enough to disrupt your sleep. If it rings or chimes, it “alerts your body to wake up rather than relax into a restful sleep,” says Osibodu-Onyali. “Note that vibrate mode can also be problematic if you have your phone next to you, as the buzzing can still disturb your sleep.”
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And this is true even if you turn off all notifications and switch to silent mode. When you get a message and your phone lights up in a dark room, that small amount of light can still pass through your eyelids, says Osibodu-Onyali, and disrupt sleep. You may not remember it happening, but you will notice the side effects of disrupted sleep, such as feeling generally tired in the morning.
Despite the stress, light and noise, you still have to admit that having your phone nearby at night has several advantages. “Phones have alarms to make sure you wake up on time and get emergency messages right away,” Liz Brown, a certified sleep science coach and founder of SleepingLucid, a sleep awareness company, tells Bustle. It can also be nice to play the soothing rain soundtracks above as you drift off to sleep.
“That’s where the ‘compromise’ comes in,” says Brown. To get these benefits, you might want to keep your phone in the same room, he says, but out of reach from your bed. This will prevent you from reaching out and checking it at night, which is guaranteed to wake you up. And it will be less likely that any light will stay out of your eyes.
When it comes to things like this, you just have to find a balance. If you want to turn off your phone or hide it in another room and rely on an old-school alarm clock, go for it. If you want to keep it face down on your nightstand, do so. It’s all about experimenting and finding out what works best for you in the name of a good night’s sleep. Follow: https://mymorningtea.in/
Referenced studies:
Mohammed, Khan, M. (2015). Mobile Devices and Insomnia: Understanding the Risks and Benefits. Curr Sleep Med Rep. 1(4): 226-231. doi: 10.1007/s40675-015-0027-7
Experts:
Rose MacDowell, sleep expert and principal researcher at Sleepopolis
Ibinye Osibodu-Onyali, LMFT, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist at The Zinnia Practice
Liz Brown, Certified Sleep Science Coach and Founder of SleepingLucid
