Millions of people make the same mistake
A sleep expert says a simple swap costing under £2 could help guarantee a good night's sleep, and says millions could gain up to five days of additional sleep a year. A Talkmobile study found that the average Brit loses 2.
4 hours of sleep each week due to time spent scrolling on their phone in bed. Chartered psychologist, neuroscientist and sleep expert, Dr Lindsay Browning said phone screens emit light that can suppress the sleep hormone melatonin which can delay the body’s natural readiness for sleep, particularly if it is light in the blue spectrum. And Dr Browning said using a phone before bed can delay sleep, increasing mental stimulation and alertness at bedtime, while keeping a phone next to the bed at night can disturb sleep due to notifications throughout the night. According to the study, men lose an average of 2.4 hours of sleep a week, or 125 hours, while women lose 2.5 hours, or around 130 hours, over a year because of phones. During sleep, the body regulates essential hormones involved with metabolism, growth and repair, as well as supporting the immune system, while the brain processes information and forms lasting memories. Sleep plays an important role in emotional well-being, helping us to regulate our emotions and cope better with stress.Dr Browning has shared top tips for getting a better night's sleep Establish a “Digital Curfew” before bed - Although it may be tempting to have a last-minute check of your phone just before going to sleep, setting a clear digital curfew can help you go to bed at the time you intended, rather than scrolling past it. Setting a “bedtime reminder” on your phone can be a really helpful way of reminding you to start putting the day to rest and getting ready for bed. A cut-off point helps to ensure that you’re not looking at stressful work emails or emotional content right before trying to sleep. Instead, putting your phone down around 20 to 30 minutes before bed and doing something else calming and relaxing before bed can make it easier to fall asleep. Activate “Do Not Disturb” or “Sleep Mode” - Many devices like iPhone/iOS have a “Do Not Disturb” feature, while Android devices have a “Bedtime Mode/Wind Down” option. Either way, both are in place to block notifications, calls, and alerts that can jeopardise your sleep. Remember that you can usually set up specific emergency contacts to bypass the Do Not Disturb/Sleep Mode setting so that your loved ones can reach you if they need to, while protecting you from WhatsApp groups or messages that can wait until tomorrow. Use Blue Light Filters and Lower Brightness - Although blue light from screens can suppress melatonin and delay falling asleep, research suggests that its impact is only one of many factors that affect sleep. To minimise melatonin suppression from blue light, you can switch on your phone’s nighttime light filter , which can help to shift the colours on the display to the warmer end of the light spectrum away from the brighter blue spectrum tones. Also, turning down screen brightness in the evening and using “Dark Mode” can help reduce brightness. Have a wind-down time before bed - It’s important for your mind and body to feel calm so sleep comes more easily. Try to avoid using your phone right up to bedtime, or you may find yourself stressed by notifications and work emails close to lights out. Instead, choose an activity that helps you switch off. Rather than scrolling, you could read a book, take a warm bath, do some gentle evening stretching, listen to a podcast or work on a jigsaw – whatever activity you enjoy. Doing the same thing regularly before bed can make it easier to fall asleep, as your brain begins to associate that activity with bedtime approaching, helping you drift off more quickly. Be mindful of what you are consuming before bed - It’s not just using your phone itself that is the problem, it’s what you’re doing on it. Engaging in heated online debates, checking work emails or watching highly stressful content close to bedtime can make it harder to switch off mentally. If you are using your phone in the evening, consider choosing more relaxing activities like using it for a guided meditation, listening to an audiobook or doing some gentle puzzles like crosswords or Sudoku. Charge your phone out of reach - If you keep your phone in your bedroom at night, it’s a good idea to charge it somewhere just out of arm’s reach to reduce the likelihood that you will pick it up immediately upon waking. This means that you can have the phone in the room, but reduce its disruptive potential, which might be important if you feel you need to be on call for work or family emergencies during the night. It can also help with your alarm clock, waking you in the morning if you have to physically get out of bed to turn the alarm off. Invest in a physical alarm clock - Last but certainly not least, this may sound like a small and simple change, but this could be the one most important change to revolutionise your sleep, and that’s investing in a physical alarm clock. Although they might be considered a thing of the past, a physical alarm clock means you don’t need to set an alarm on your phone to wake up in the morning. This means that you remove the temptation to check your phone in the middle of the night when you wake up, or to check it immediately upon waking in the morning. It also helps to avoid checking the phone right before going to sleep. If you’re going to make one simple switch to improve your sleep, this is it. Dr Browning, said: “Phones are an integral part of modern life, but using them at bedtime can reduce both total sleep amount and sleep quality, which can affect both physical and mental health. The problem isn’t just the light from the screen, but also how using phones at bedtime pushes bedtime later, or how phones can interrupt sleep with overnight notifications. “Setting clear boundaries around evening phone use can help protect sleep and support overall well-being.”
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