Tips for better Sleep:

I read an interesting article the other day about cellphones and sleep.  It indicated that there is scientific evidence that using your tablet, cell, or watching a movie at night didn’t cause the long term harm other scientists have concluded. “Yay!” I said to myself because I do have trouble sleeping and frequently turn to my cell phone for entertainment until I feel sleepy enough to try to fall asleep again.

So I started reading Checking Your Phone At Night Won’t Necessarily Throw Off Your Internal Clock to confirm that I could now watch Star Trek at 3 am without worrying.  But in the very first paragraph, it stated:

“People who only occasionally fall down an internet rabbit hole on their smartphones late at night might be able to rest easier—at least according to the results of a new study in mice. Researchers found that short bursts of light exposure at night won’t necessarily disrupt your internal clock, including sleep habits.”

and:

“What is clear, the authors cautioned, is that chronic nighttime light exposure, and the disruptions to our sleep it can cause, can be very bad for health. In other words, don’t use this study as an excuse to start regularly binge-watching Netflix till 4 a.m.”

So basically, there’s nothing new here. Using your cellphone or tablet at night, even with the brightness turned way down, is harmful to your health. So, I guess I’ll need to find some kind of “go-to-sleep” meditation or take melatonin.

Other Sleep Disturbances:

It’s important to note that light is only one factor that causes sleep disturbances. Technology can cause other disturbances as well. Sound and vibrations can wake you up, or contribute to sleep quality, which never falls into the deep sleep range.

Recommendations for better Sleep:

• Keep your phone, tablet, and other technology in another room to charge overnight, if you can.
• Turn the sound off.
• Turn off silent notifications – i.e., vibrations
• If you wear a smartwatch that is paired with your phone, make sure you turn off nighttime notifications too.  Nothing like having your wrist buzzing at midnight!