It’s crazy how a small device like a smartphone can take such control of your life. The harmful impacts of cellphone usage are heightened at night, while you are tired, overthinking, and unable to sleep. Not only does the phone usage postpone your restful night, but it exposes you to stressors and causes your mind to wander. Using your phone can be addictive, and you may find yourself scrolling on social media apps for hours of the night, even when your intention was to only check on one small thing.

Using your phone regularly before bed can lead to an irregular sleeping pattern and negative thoughts before bed, contributing to mood disorders. Studies have shown that by restricting cellphone usage before sleep, people have an better mood, memory, and sleep quality.

How to Stop Yourself from Checking Your Phone At Night

  1. Have a regular sleep schedule. By deliberately training yourself to obey a specific routine, you will feel the desire to go to bed at a certain time and will have less of an inclination to use your phone to “help you fall asleep”.
  2. Make a rule to keep off your phone at night. Whether this means physically putting your phone out of sight 30 minutes before bed, using a notification setting that doesn’t allow you to use apps after a certain time, or shutting it off; take any action needed that works for you to ensure that you stay off your phone. Some people say that using their phone helps them to feel tired, improving sleep. In reality, more screen time just causes you to stay awake for longer, while also feeding you information to store in your mind before bed. This extra stimulation compromises your sleep quality. When you have the discipline to remove yourself from your screen at least 30 minutes before falling asleep, you can resolve the mental conflicts from the day before going to sleep and use sleep as a period of complete restoration.
  3. Try meditating, journaling, or doing other acts of self-care before bed. These processes will cause your to relaxed and will help with sleep deprivation, and also will change your mindset before bed. Positive feelings before bed will improve positive affect for the day to come, and will increase arousal states.

By taking measures to change your mindset before bed, you will feel continued positive effects in the upcoming day.

 

References

http://www.jstor.org/ stable/44505074

http://www.jstor.org/ stable/26060531

https://journals.plos.org/ plosone/article?id= 10.1371%2Fjournal. pone.0228756

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