If you’re like me, then your phone is the first thing you check when you wake up and the last thing you look at before you go to bed. However, this may not be the best practice to follow because screen time can be eating away at our sleep. I was reading an article (on my phone of course lol) about screen time and how the blue and white lights given off by our phones, 4k televisions
and laptops can prevent our brains from releasing melatonin, which is a hormone that helps us sleep. That is why it’s best to always change the setting of your screen to night shift if you like to use your phone at night before bed. I always make sure to do this, but honestly, it’s still not the same as just putting your phone away. So I wanted to try out something new, I put my phone away an hour before bed for one week and this is what happened:
- I fell asleep much quicker and easier. When using my phone before bed, it takes me a while to fall asleep. I find myself tossing and turning a bit and not being able to get in that relaxed mindset I’d like to be in before bed. When you’re using your phone/laptop/tablet before bed, you’re engaging in something typically. Your mind needs time to unwind before bed and when you’re staring at a screen it’s doing the opposite.
- I slept BETTER and woke up less in the middle of the night. You know those nights where you just sleep all through the night and don’t wake up ONCE. Well yeah, that happened to me when I put my phone away. I think my body was able to reach that REM sleep easier and as a result I was able to sleep through the night, very peacefully.
- I felt better the next morning. Now, I’m not sure if this is because I slept better overall or because my eyes weren’t focused on such a tiny screen before bed, but I definitely felt more refreshed the next day. My eyes didn’t feel heavy and I felt like I had more energy and worked better throughout the day. Again, this could be because I just slept better overall but who knows. I loved it though!
- My eyes didn’t feel sleepy or heavy. I know this may not be the case for everyone, but I have sensitive eyes and I am also prone to puffy and baggy eyes which I really hate. This past week, I noticed my eyes didn’t seem as puffy. And they definitely did not feel as tired. I know staring at a screen can really strain your eyes. And unfortunately for what I do, I am always looking at a screen. So for me, the one hour I put my phone down I think really made a difference in how my eyes felt (and looked) the next morning.
- I woke up earlier the next morning. As a result of putting my phone down before bed, I ended up sleeping earlier, which in turn made me wake up earlier. I’m sure many of you can relate to me when I tell you I have those nights where I just lay in bed scrolling aimlessly on IG or look up one Youtube video and somehow end up on something SO far off topic like three hours later. Yeah we’ve all been there! But by putting down the screen before bed, those things no longer happen and as a result I slept much earlier than usual.
I think in this day and age, we are all so attached to technology and as much as it has helped us advance, I think it also has led to some pretty bad habits which are costing our health. I for one can admit, I am on my phone or laptop for many hours a day because of what I do. And there are so many of us like that out there. So I think it is important to adjust some of our habits and make better choices even if it is as simple as putting your phone down for an hour before bed. I’m only human and I know this will be a hard thing for me to do every single day, but I am going to try to continue to do it while I can. Instead of scrolling aimlessly, I am going to try to read a physical copy of a book 🙂 I’d love to hear your thought on this topic. Have any of you tried this!? As always, thanks for reading! xx
