About 70 million Americans struggle with getting a full night’s sleep. This number consistently rises every year, and cellphones play a large part in creating the sleep disorder pandemic that we are experiencing today. Dozens of studies have proven that using your cellphone before or in bed can have serious consequences. From blue light damage to your eyes to disrupting your circadian rhythm, there are plenty of scientific reasons to put the phone down before you slip into your night clothes.
So, before you panic about why you cannot sleep at night, take a look at some of the phone habits you have formed. Likely, you can make a real difference in your sleep patterns just by putting your phone away 30 minutes before you go to bed and sleeping with it at least 3 feet from your person.
If you are still wondering what the big deal is with sleeping with your phone under your pillow, here are just a few reasons why you should put the phone away before bedtime.
Blue Light Emissions
Research shows that the blue light emitted by your cell phone negatively impacts the production of melatonin, the hormone that controls your sleep-wake cycle. This disruption may trigger insomniatic episodes or erratic sleep patterns. Blue light can also cause eye strain that leads to headaches. Many patients who seek help for their sleep disorders report that pain such as migraines makes it difficult to fall asleep.
While there are steps that you can take to combat this issue, the most effective change you can make is keeping your phone face-down on a surface out of your immediate reach. Changing the tone and brightness of your phone screen or taking Melatonin supplements may help you recover from some of the more long-term damage done by habitual nighttime phone usage, but you will still be adding strain to your body instead of soothing yourself to sleep.
Sleep-Wake Cycle
Your Sleep-Wake Cycle, also known as your Circadian Rhythm, is the natural pattern that your body falls into that controls how long you experience each sleep cycle as well as how much active rest you experience throughout the night.
Your Circadian rhythm is even more important than that, though. This process controls your sleep-wake pattern over the course of a 24-hour day. It helps control your daily schedule for sleep versus wakefulness and can be influenced or disrupted by light and dark, along with some other factors. Your brain receives signals based on your environment that activates hormones, alters body temperature, and regulates metabolism to keep you alert throughout the day and helps you sleep at night.
This system is kept in check by the Melatonin produced by your body. If your body is not producing enough Melatonin, it can have a negative impact on this bodily process and cause problems getting to sleep and getting enough hours of your deep sleep cycle to feel properly rested in the morning.
Sleep Disruptions
Another major concern for sleeping with your phone very close to you is that notifications throughout the night can wake you–even if only partially–and disrupt your natural sleep cycle. Your Circadian Rhythm is based on 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep and can be seriously challenged when alerts from your phone rouse you throughout the night.
Alerts like automated emails, in-app ads, software updates, and unnecessary text messages can keep your phone buzzing all night, but do not require your immediate attention. Receiving notifications like these while you are trying to go to sleep is just another thing that is going to keep you awake.
If you feel like you must sleep with your phone beside you, for whatever reason, you should be sure to always put your device in Do Not Disturb mode while you are resting. This way, anyone experiencing an emergency can bypass your screening tool, but you will not be woken up by every errant email or app update that hits your home screen.
After all, sleep is a complex process, and disruption of sleep can affect the way you think, behave, and feel during the day. Consistent lack of sleep Sleep disorders can also contribute to heart disease, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and other health conditions.
Engagement
Social media and streaming apps can be addicting. Most likely, you have already experienced evidence of this addiction at play in your day-to-day life. You might decide to scroll for a few minutes only to realize that hours have passed. It happens to the best of us, but that does not make it healthy.
Studies show that using your phone before bed actually engages your brain and makes it even more difficult to fall asleep. Engaging in social media or text conversations signals to your brain that it is time to socialize, not sleep. Entertainment apps and emails can be even more detrimental, as they activate the problem-solving part of your brain that may release hormones that keep you awake longer.
How to Combat Habitual Nightime Phone Usage
The most effective way to combat nighttime phone usage is to simply put the phone far enough away from where you sleep to be an inconvenience to check. One mistake that we often make is to trust our own self-control to keep us from doing things that we know we should not.
Unfortunately, checking your phone is such an automatic response it can be hard to keep ourselves from giving in. Furthermore, drawing the line on when to put the phone away can be difficult.
Save yourself the sleep deprivation and try plugging your phone in just out of your reach. Not only will this help you quell the urge to check your phone as you are going to sleep, but it will also require that you physically get up to turn off any alarms set for the morning, giving you a better chance of fully waking in the morning instead of sleeping through your alarms.
Plugging your phone into an outlet across the room from your bed as well as putting the device on Do Not Disturb mode is a great way to ensure that you can go to sleep without worrying about what is going on behind the screen of your cellphone. Studies show that we are less likely to respond immediately to needs that require we get out of bed after we have laid down. In fact, people often go without food or drink and even put off going to the bathroom after they have gone to bed for the night simply because of the psychological barrier that is associated with leaving our bed at night.
Sleep Disorder Diagnosis and Treatment
But, how do you know if your sleep troubles are a product of too much screen time or a more serious problem? Sleep disorders can have serious impacts on your daily life. Many medical conditions can be triggered or exacerbated by poor sleep quality. You might also have a separate medical condition that is actually causing your sleep issues. If you have not changed your nightly behavior, but are having more and more trouble getting to sleep, there might be another issue at play. Another way to tell if your phone is the problem is to simply eliminate the behavior altogether and monitor your sleeping habits after.
Minimizing or eliminating cellphone usage as well as other problematic behaviors is a great way to reset your Circadian Rhythm, but problems are often more deeply rooted. Unfortunately, not all problems can be solved by putting your phone away. If you eliminate nighttime phone usage but you are still having difficulty receiving a full night’s rest, you should consider seeking professional help. While being on your phone late into the night can cause problems night-to-night, doing so habitually can also cause more chronic issues that might require attention from a sleep disorder doctor.
Sleep Doctors such as Dr. Gingras at Gingras Sleep Medicine in Concord and Charlotte, NC will have the best solution for your continued wellness. It is important to research different sleep disorder specialist and their specialties to make sure that you are receiving the best treatment possible. Dr. Gingras is a highly accomplished, double board-certified sleep medicine specialist who has been successfully treating patients for decades! She and her team of trained professionals will help you achieve a full, restful night’s sleep!
For more resources on signs that you might have a sleep disorder or ways to create healthy sleep patterns, check out our blog or schedule a consultation with us today! Make your appointment today by visiting our website at gingrassleepmedicine.com or calling us at (704) 944-0562.