Read this if you are always on the phone before bed

The vast majority of people stay on their smartphones until bedtime – and many people stay on their phones, even in bed. According to a 2019 study by Common Sense Media, 61% of parents are on the phone half an hour before bed and about 70% of children check the phone in the meantime.

And while many people stay on the phone until they go to sleep, most are still able to sleep, he noted Rafael Pelayo, a sleep specialist at Stanford Health Care. He added that it’s not the fact of actually being on the phone before bed that keeps us awake at night, but the kind of content consumed before bed that affects a good or bad night’s rest.

He added that checking something you know can cause stress can result in an eventful night. Alternatively, using the phone as a relaxing tool or as a way to end the day can help you sleep.

Next, sleep experts share what to do – and what not to do – on your phone to help you get a peaceful night’s sleep.

Pelayo suggested using the phone as a tool to end the day before bed. Check the weather forecast for tomorrow, ask a friend a question or choose the workout you want to do in the morning.

Whatever you do, don’t check for notifications that you know will stress you, such as news updates or emails. Be aware of the alerts that are catching your eye and whether they will promote a restful night’s sleep.

“The most disturbing thing about the screens is when they are at maximum brightness, [they] emit a color close to the natural light that we have in our environment ”, said Rebecca Robbins, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and associate scientist in the Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

She added that, specifically, the blue light emitted by the phone screens can have the same physiological alerting effect that the sun has on the body and brain.

Many phones have settings that change the tone of the screen automatically. On the iPhone, the feature is called Night Shift, and on Samsung phones, a setting called Blue Light Filter does the same thing. On other Android phones, the setting is called Night Light. If your phone does not offer this configuration, there are apps available for free download that adjust the tone of your phone when you approach bedtime.

According to Robbins, changing the phone’s preprogrammed blue color setting to a warmer tone can help you feel sleepy and relaxed. She suggested changing the settings by the time the sun goes down or an hour or two before bed.

According Pew Research Center, about 7 out of 10 Americans use social media. While it is not inherently bad to check Twitter or Instagram before bed, Robbins emphasized that using social media before bed can result in a busy night.

“One of the most difficult things about social media is that you lose control,” she said. That is, although you can select your friends on Facebook, you cannot control what they post or the targeted ads or news updates that appear in your feed or whether someone posts something that upsets you.

Robbins said that since we cannot choose everything we see on social media, it may not always show content suitable for sleeping. If you want to see social media before bed, try looking for specific accounts that you know will bring you some calm (like some of these Instagram accounts about mental health). Otherwise, save the apps for the start of the day, if you can.

Using the phone in bed is not a cause for shame, Pelayo said. Many people use meditation apps as a way to fall asleep. He noted that in this case, the phone is more than a phone, it is a useful tool for sleeping.

Downloadable meditation apps, like Headspace, Shine and Calm teach beginners how to meditate and the importance of practice, and also offer guided meditations to users of all levels.

“Stories are one of the forms of information we received when we were very, very young,” said Robbins. “So we are programmed to tell a story at bedtime.”

You can download storytelling programs on your smartphone that can help you sleep. Apps like Audible and Libby allow users to download a variety of audiobooks to listen to, including bestsellers, children’s books, nonfiction works, and short story collections.

Take advantage of your phone’s alarm clock feature by setting an alarm clock for bedtime, recommends Robbins. That way, if you are in a social media rabbit hole when you should be getting ready for bed, a night alarm can remind you to stop scrolling.

“If you set a calming alarm for bedtime, it can help you bring a little more awareness to a time when you should be starting to shut down,” she said, adding that shutting down could mean meditation, sleep work. breathing or getting into a hot bath.

“We are so dedicated to [alarms for] when we wake up. We are much less aware of our bedtime, ”she said.

Pelayo stressed that, when it comes to using the smartphone before bed, the ultimate goal should be to arrive at a feeling of serenity after checking the phone. If using it for meditation before bed reaches that goal, great. If watching TikTok helps you get there, that’s great too.

“The phone can be a great tool if you’re concerned about getting up late for work or missing a morning flight,” he said. In such cases, your phone can act as an alarm clock and help you fall asleep knowing that you will be awake at the required time in the morning.

If you use the phone as a tool to feel safe and prepared – or accommodated – for a good night’s sleep, then using the phone before bed is not a problem. If you use the phone as a way to block uncomfortable thoughts, you probably won’t have a restful night’s sleep.

Pelayo stressed that anyone who uses the phone awake until bedtime and even in bed should not feel ashamed. When used in the right way, it can be a useful tool for many when they fall asleep.