Saturday 9 September 2017

Don't Be an Idiot and Keep Your Phone in Your Bedroom at Night


What I'm going to say isn't profound: lots has already been written about the negative impact of mobile phones on sleep. Shining a rectangle of pure light straight at your retinas before you go to bed is hardly going to help you drop off into a peaceful slumber, is it? Yet which idiot still does this? The one preaching to you right now.

I've struggled with sleep my whole life- waaaay before smartphones came around. The sleep issues I have are connected to a head injury I sustained at birth. Connections between sleep disturbance and head trauma have been documented, but I've not properly investigated it myself (another #psychologysaturday idea?) But since 2010, when I got my first smartphone, I've struggled more. Granted, moving out of my parents' gaff and running out of money was a factor, but having a smartphone in my bedroom has been one too. So, as part of my #psychologysaturday theme, I'm going to keep my phone in the lounge. I won't even walk into my bedroom with my phone in my pocket, let alone leave it charging while I'm asleep.

Some people may suggest, why not put it on night mode? On calls only? Well, because as I drop off I'll think of something else that I want to check, and I'll end up using my phone to go online and look something up, or add something to a list, and further balls up my melatonin intake. I'll be tempted to listen to ASMR videos to help me drop off. (They help me relax, but stop me sleeping as even if I cover the screen, I'll still look at it once the video has ended.)

If the phone is in a different room, I'll ignore any notifications / calls that come through. Let's give it a shot and see how I feel in a month. I'll also see if there are any improvements at the gym.

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