Look, we’re sure you already know what we’re going to say about this matter. But the fact is, you need to hear it. Over and over. As many times as we can say or write it, you need to hear or read it.
You love laying in bed cruising social media feeds or shopping on Amazon. The Amazon habit is probably adding to your debt, so you should cut that out for more reasons than health.
The problem in all of this is that smartphones are ruining your sleep. And in case you didn’t know it, sleep is a mighty big deal. Quality sleep offers help in fighting cancer. And that’s only one reason why sleep is so vital to our health and well-being.
Things get worse in the category of sleep for people in the technology-laden western world. Over a thrid of people in America don’t get the recommended 7 hours of nightly sleep.
Tie that in with a study showing that 90% of Americans use their smartphones in bed and you can see the big billowing issue.
So yes, that’s more than mere correlation presented in the above paragraph. In fact, it points to a sad, increasing epidemic where people simply aren’t getting sleep. And things aren’t looking any better as more and more technology takes space in our lives.
Being on the phone prior to bed discourages, inhibits healthy sleep. That’s the facts. It’s science, folks.
But the core pain point is obvious: We’re all addicted to our smartphones. In fact, if you’re a parent, you may even use your smartphone in bed more because you see it as a reward for not being able to use it as much during the day (due to parenting).
We also view using a smart device in bed as relaxing. However, the fact is, that device and all it’s content is feeding your brain anti-sleep content. And it gets worse, the more screentime you have in bed, the more of a detriment it has on your sleep.
So What Do We Do About Smartphones and Sleep?
I’m not going to waste too much time on this Captain Obvious moment because we all know what’s coming. You need to use your smart devices less the closer you get to sleepy time. Wind down in other ways, for example:
Shower
Read (yes, a book and not on a tech device)
Meditate: Meditation promotes healthy sleep. So its more than a mere replacement, instead, it’s actually serving to instigate improved sleep.
You shouldn’t exercise too close to bed if you want good sleep, otherwise, we’d add that. The point beyond that is to find preoccupations that don’t involve a screen.
The bigger issue is smartphone addiction. We need to break this habit for our own good. Even when it’s not close to bedtime, smartphone overuse is hurting our health, even our posture. Smartphones have helped bring in a lot of conveniences and educational growth. But likewise, too much of a good thing, is, well…
