Most of us are probably ending our nights with a scroll. Maybe it’s TikTok, answering “one last” text, or watching a show until Netflix asks if we’re still there. No judgment, I’ve totally been there. But recently, I’ve been thinking more about how much that habit messes with my sleep and how I feel at bedtime.
We always hear about “blue light” being bad before bed, but I think there’s more to it. It’s not just the light from the screen it’s the fact that our brains are still going. There’s always one more post, message, and thing to think about. And suddenly, it’s midnight, and you’re still not sleepy.
Lately, I’ve been trying to practice what people call “digital sleep hygiene.” Basically, it’s the idea that your relationship with tech directly impacts your sleep and you can set better boundaries with it to wind down more naturally. I’m not perfect at it, but here are a few small things that have actually helped me:
- Not having my phone is the last thing I see before I close my eyes.
It’s definitely hard, especially when watching a show in bed, scrolling, or even doing homework right before you clock out. But in the long run, reading a book or even doing yoga and meditating has helped me get to bed faster.
2. Physical Books Before Bed
I love the book app on my phone. It is so easy to use, and I can’t take it with me anywhere…planes, the lake, and read in the comfort of my own bed. I started noticing my eye strain and even getting tired too soon in the day. I try to balance my online reading and physical copies as much as I can, but I definitely prioritize a physical copy for before sleeping
3. Giving my brain quiet time.
For everyone this can mean different things but for me this meant no music when showering or studying once in awhile and no white noise when falling asleep.
We always hear about blue light and wear blue light glasses, especially at night while on our phones. Screens like our phones, tablets, and laptops give off short-wavelength, blue light which is similar to what we get from the morning sun. So when we are all scrolling or watching our shows at 10 p.m., our body gets tricked into thinking it’s daytime. Another crazy thing is that this blue light actually suppresses melatonin, which is why we may toss and turn or make it hard for us to stay asleep at times. Making some distance from ourselves and our phones and laptops at night is so worth it and is something I think should be talked about more.
Sources:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8466496/
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