Why You Should Not Sleep With Your Cell Phone at Night Light and Stimulation May Fragment Sleep and Lead to Insomnia If you are like most people, the last thing you look at before going to sleep (and the first thing you see upon awakening) may be your phone.
How might this impact your ability to sleep and contribute to insomnia? Should you sleep with your phone in the bedroom? What are the potential harmful effects of keeping a phone near you in bed?
Consider how sleeping near a phone may impact your ability to sleep, and changes that you can make tonight to help yourself to sleep better.
How Modern Phones Impact Sleep.
Phones have been around since Alexander Graham Bell invented the first telephone in 1876. It is only in the last several decades that a dramatic change has occurred, both in their
function and role in our lives. No longer solely a way to speak with someone at a distance,
modern phones have a variety of roles.
Mobile, cell, or smartphones are now fully integrated into our daily lives. These marvels of technology function as pocket- sized computers. With them, we can perform many activities necessary for modern living.
You can phone calls, send text messages, map a route, surf the Internet, respond to emails, and interact via social media like Facebook and Twitter. You can also play games and use apps to perform a stunning array of tasks. It should be no surprise that these functions may also have the potential to intrude upon our sleep.
Reducing Sleep Many of these activities may prompt a compulsive desire to continue refreshing, checking, responding, reading, scrolling, posting, clicking, or playing. It feels good and there is a limitless opportunity for additional stimulation.
It may be tough to stop and put the device away. This alone may lead to a delay in bedtime and reduced total sleep time. This may contribute to sleep deprivation if the needed hours of sleep to feel rested are not obtained. 1 The stimulation may make it hard to shut down and fall asleep. The mind may be overly excited or activated.
Light In addition, the light from phone, tablet, or computer screens may impact the ability to fall asleep. 1 Small amounts of artificial light from the screens may cause a delay in the circadian rhythm.
This may be especially impactful on night owls with a naturally delayed sleep phase. If morning sunlight is not obtained to counteract these effects, insomnia and morning sleepiness may result.
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