- According to the National Sleep Foundation, more than half of Americans use their phones within an hour of going to sleep.
- Experts recommend turning off devices earlier for better sleep quality.
- Breaking the habit means redesigning nighttime routines by replacing screen time with activities like reading or spending time with family.
Like many of us, Jessica Peoples has heard the warnings about excessive screen time at night. Still, she estimates she spends 30 to 60 minutes on her phone before going to sleep, mostly scrolling social media.
“Lately I've been trying to limit the amount,” said Peoples, a New Jersey state discrimination investigator. “I do notice that the amount of time I spend affects how long it takes to fall asleep.”
According to a National Sleep Foundation survey, more than half of Americans spend time on their phones within an hour of going to sleep. That's the latest thing we need to turn off devices, experts say.
'BED ROTTING' IS SELF-CARE, SOME PERSONS PERSUME, BUT MENTAL HEALTH EXPERT SHARE WARNINGS ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA TREND
The brain needs to rest well before bedtime to get the restorative deep sleep that helps the body function, says Melissa Milanak, an associate professor at the Medical University of South Carolina who specializes in sleep health.
James Walter uses a telephone at home in the Queens borough of New York on April 7, 2021. Sleep scientists have long established that insufficient sleep is linked to poor health outcomes, anxiety, obesity, and several other negative effects. The research is equally compelling that smartphones are particularly disruptive to the circadian clock that regulates sleep and other hormones. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski, file)
“You wouldn't take a casserole out of the oven and put it in the refrigerator. It needs to cool,” Milanak said. “Our brains need to do that too.”
Changing your bedtime routine may not be easy, but insufficient sleep has long been linked to anxiety, obesity, and other negative consequences. Research shows that smartphones are particularly disruptive to the circadian clock that regulates sleep and other hormones.
“There are a million and one ways that screens cause problems with sleep,” says Lisa Strauss, a licensed psychologist who specializes in the cognitive behavioral treatment of sleep disorders.
The brain, she said, processes electric light — and not just the much-maligned blue light from a smartphone — like sunshine. This suppresses the production of melatonin, delaying deep sleep. Even very little exposure to bright light in bed has an effect.
IT'S NOT JUST THE LIGHT THAT YOU LOVE
Of course, scrolling ominously through the news, checking emails or being seduced by more and more bespoke videos on social media has its own consequences.
So-called 'technostress' strengthens you and may even trigger the brain's flight-or-flight response. And algorithms designed to be attractive force many social media users to scroll longer than they intended.
“Now it's 30 minutes later and you wanted to watch some videos and fall asleep,” Milanak said.
Although much of the scientific research on online media focuses on adolescents and young adults, Strauss says that most of her clients who struggle with insomnia are middle-aged. “People are going down these rabbit holes of videos, and more and more people are getting hooked,” she said.
HOW TO BREAK THE HABIT
The problem is not only reducing phone use in bed, but also phone use at night. That means redesigning your routine, especially if you use your phone as a way to decompress.
It helps to create replacement behaviors that are rewarding. An obvious candidate is reading a physical book (e-readers are better than phones, but still cast artificial light). Milanak also suggests using that hour before bed to take a warm bath, listen to a podcast, make school lunches for the next day, spend time with family, or call a relative in a different time zone .
“Make a list of things you enjoy that never get done. That's a good time to do things that don't require screens,” she said. Using a notepad to write down the next day's to-do list will prevent you from worrying in bed.
Do those activities in another room to train yourself to associate the bed with falling asleep. If there is no other private sanctuary at home, “provide a separate microenvironment for waking and sleeping,” Strauss said. That might mean sitting on the opposite side of the bed to read, or even just turning the other way with your feet at the headboard.
Finally, keep the phone in another room, or at least on the other side of the room. “Environmental control can work better than willpower, especially when we are tired,” she said.
WHAT IF STOPPING DOESN'T FEEL REALISTIC?
There are ways to limit the damage. Putting the phone in night mode at a scheduled time every day is better than nothing, as is reducing the screen brightness every night. Hold the phone far from your face and at an oblique angle to minimize the brightness of the light.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Minimize tempting notifications by putting the phone on Do Not Disturb, which can be adjusted to allow calls and messages from certain people, such as a sick parent or a child in college, to pass through. But none of these measures give you carte blanche to watch whatever you want at night, Strauss said.
She also recommended asking yourself why checking social media has become your late-night reward.
“Think about the bigger structure of the day,” she said. Everyone deserves solitary moments to relax, but “perhaps be more self-indulgent so that you have what you need.”
