You’ve probably heard before to avoid screen time before sleep.
So… why?
In the past, we’ve all been told to eschew it due to the light factor. Blue light is the enemy of sleep. And, unfortunately, this is indeed the kinda light that radiates from a T.V., phone, or laptop. (But not your lamps and other ambient light sources in the home.) Bummer for us and our Revenge Bedtime Procrastination. (Yes, that is an actual term people apparently use.) On a deeper level (*pops on geek specs*), blue light suppresses melatonin. And melatonin is what’s required for us to snooze serenely through the eve. Now, this is probably all just a review for most of you avid readers of this site (or just researchers of sleep). Which means you probably also know that switching to amber light settings on your phone and laptop can counter this inconvenient fact, allowing you to keep scrolling or slaving away on those late night projects without melatonin being impeded by blue light.
So, that solves it, right?
Wrong. In studies done on the sleep cycles of those who utilized technology before bed, sleep was consistently interrupted. They even hooked people up to EEG machines to actually see what was happening in their domes as they dreamt. And even the snoring test subjects who kept their eyes shut through the night still had sleep cycles that were punctuated. (Also, light modification settings had no effect.) The non techie at bedtime folks, on the contrary, slumbered like winter grizzlies. And the real kicker? Even when the phone addicts tried to change their ways – they still didn’t resume a quality nocturnal cycle. Not straight away, at least. It took a solid week for their brains and bodies to reinstate business as usual. After that, they were golden. So, if not light – what was the reason these people were still missing out on a restful rest time?
In a word: dopamine.
Typically, many who tend to stay up late, staring at a glowing brick, aren’t doing it just for work. They’re scrolling. Facebook. Insta. TikTok. Reels. And, yes, even LinkedIn. (Sorry, you’re not special just because it’s “professional”.) When we scroll, we’re chasing one dopamine hit after the other in that anticipation for the next engaging post to come along. It’s that addiction reward game. The same goes for someone awaiting a text or email – or browsing through the more, shall we say, *ahem* adult content sites. One dopamine hit after the next.
And why does this matter?
Because dopamine can potentially inhibit norepinephrine – which, in turn, causes you to feel more alert. So, if you hit the hay with a brain doused in dopamine, you’re already going to feel awake. Add on a lack of amber filter for your screen, and good luck catching so much as a wink. The fix? Get your fix of screen time early on in the eve – and then stow your phone 30 to 60 minutes before it’s time to power down. If you need a good wind down to help your body calm down, try a relaxing yoga sequence or meditation. Journaling can be a good catharsis. Indulging in a bath or skin care routine also can be a nice pre-sleep ritual. Or, some people also just find that preparing for the next day (laying out clothes, packing up a lunch, or planning out tomorrow’s to-do’s) also help them feel less anxious and more accomplished so they can rest without an anxious brain prodding them back to consciousness.
That all said, we must appreciate that pre-bed screen time has become such a habit, that many of us are unknowingly addicted to it. If we weren’t, now that we know it’s bad for us, we could quit easily. And, make no mistake, it is very bad for us to do this. Without quality sleep, our immunity reduces. With lowered immunity, we can’t fight the ever evolving plague that even our best vaccines can’t seem to combat. Don’t care about Omicron? Then maybe the vanity or intelligence angle will worry you. When we rest, our memory is fortified and our skin heals itself. Take that away, and we age twice as quickly and can’t think on our feet – affecting our performance in all areas of our lives. The point of all that being to say: if you recognize you have this addiction to evening dopamine hit distributing devices – acknowledge it, and map out an alternative plan for a replacement ritual.
So, don’t delay. Ditch the brain melting rectangle, find a new nighttime routine, and you’ll be on your way to sleeping sweetly in just a week.