Does using your phone before bed negatively affect your sleep? Tips for breaking the habit

How do you spend your time before bed?

Many people probably have a bedtime routine that involves "lying in bed, fiddling with their smartphone," right?

Using your smartphone before bed has various negative impacts on your sleep and body.

This time, gugu Sleep, a company specializing in sleep, will explain why using your smartphone before bed is bad, offer tips to stop using it, and provide advice for those who find it difficult to break the habit.

Why Using Your Smartphone Before Bed Is Bad

There are two main reasons why using your smartphone before bed is said to be bad.

【Reason 1】

The "blue light" emitted from smartphones and other devices tricks the brain into thinking it's daytime, disrupting the body's internal clock and making it difficult to get quality sleep.

【Reason 2】

Using a smartphone to browse social media or exchange messages with friends stimulates the brain, making it harder to fall asleep.

Let's delve deeper into why using your smartphone before bed is bad.

Many people think of "blue light" as a reason why using a smartphone before bed is bad, but what exactly is wrong with it?

This is because blue light has the effect of tricking the brain into thinking it's "daytime" and suppressing the secretion of "melatonin," also known as the sleep hormone.

When secreted, melatonin is a substance that prepares the body for sleep, and it is usually said to begin secreting 14 to 16 hours after exposure to morning sunlight.

Assuming you wake up at 7 AM, melatonin secretion begins around 10 PM, and your body starts preparing for sleep.

However, if you use your smartphone before bed and expose yourself to blue light, your brain will be tricked into thinking it's daytime, suppressing melatonin secretion. As a result, your body won't enter a state ready for sleep, making it difficult to fall asleep smoothly and leading to sleep deprivation.

In fact, what is increasingly being said to have a greater impact than blue light is the "brain stimulation" caused by social media and exchanging messages with friends.

Normally, when you lie down in bed at night, your brain begins to prepare for sleep.

However, if you check social media or exchange messages with friends during this time, your brain becomes stimulated and active, making it difficult to fall asleep smoothly.

Using Your Smartphone Before Bed Worsens Sleep Onset by 1.48 Times

According to a 2015 study, using a smartphone before bed makes it 1.48 times harder to fall asleep and increases the risk of sleep deprivation by 1.35 times.

A state of sleep deprivation can lead to decreased attention and productivity, causing various accidents.

Additionally, prolonged sleep deprivation can accumulate "sleep debt" in the body, which can cause physical and mental discomfort, so caution is advised.

4 Benefits of Quitting Your Smartphone Before Bed

So, what are the benefits of stopping smartphone use before bed?

Quitting your smartphone before bed can lead to the following benefits:

As mentioned above, using a smartphone before bed negatively impacts sleep due to blue light and brain stimulation from social media, etc.

Therefore, quitting your smartphone before bed is expected to improve sleep quality.

Along with improved sleep quality, you can also expect improved concentration and memory, as well as stress reduction.

3 Tips to Stop Using Your Smartphone Before Bed

So, how can you stop using your smartphone before bed?

Here are gugu's recommended three tips to help you stop using your smartphone before bed.

The first tip is to put your smartphone away from your bed before going to sleep.

When your smartphone is near you at bedtime, it's easy to get distracted and pick it up. When going to sleep, it's best to place your smartphone somewhere away from your bed, where it's not easily reachable.

Most people probably use their smartphones before bed not because they have a specific purpose, but rather out of habit or unconsciously.

For such individuals, it's also recommended to create a night routine that doesn't involve using a smartphone before bed.

Instead of using your smartphone on your bed or futon before sleep, consider doing the following:

Besides the above, creating a personalized night routine that doesn't involve using your smartphone before bed can help you stop the habit without much effort.

Utilizing your smartphone's features is also recommended to stop using it before bed.

Although the names may vary depending on the smartphone model, features like "Downtime" or "Digital Wellbeing" exist, which allow only permitted apps to be used within a set time frame.

Utilizing such features to prevent smartphone use before bed, except when necessary, is one effective method.

For those who just can't stop using their smartphone before bed

"I've tried everything, but I just can't stop using my smartphone before bed." If that sounds like you, try to minimize the impact of your smartphone use by keeping the following in mind:

The key to minimizing the impact of smartphone use before bed is to minimize brain stimulation.

If you want to use social media before bed, refrain from posting or commenting, which can cause significant brain stimulation, and simply browse.

Similarly, for communication with friends, save it for the next morning unless it's a truly essential and urgent matter.

Manage your smartphone use before bed wisely and achieve better sleep.

Using a smartphone before bed worsens sleep onset by 1.48 times and increases the risk of sleep deprivation by 1.35 times.

And if you don't get enough sleep, it can lead to various negative effects on both your mind and body, so it's important to be careful about using your smartphone before bed.

It can be difficult to suddenly stop using social media, watching videos, or communicating with friends before bed. However, by referring to the tips we've provided, you can gradually reduce your smartphone use before bed and aim for a healthier daily life.

Better sleep, better you
better sleep better you