Even if you already spent the entire day using your phone, you still take an hour to use it before going to bed. You still browse updates on social media and even finish your favorite video games. You’re not giving yourself a favor by doing these things. Taking your phone with you during bedtime is dangerous to your health, and you should avoid it.
You will suffer from insomnia
When your body tells you it’s time to go to bed, you have to do it. Sometimes, you pretend that you’re not yet sleepy so you can finish watching an episode of your favorite show. The problem is that if you sleep late all the time, you will find it difficult to go to bed when you want to. Insomnia could lead to fatigue and other mental health issues.
You will find reasons to stay up
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Your phone has tons of features and has access to the internet. It means that there are lots of things to do. If you allow yourself to keep using it during bedtime, you will have endless reasons to stay awake. Your social media page has unlimited content. Your streaming site has a lot of shows you are yet to watch. The only way to resist temptation is not to use your phone in the bedroom.
You might sleep close to your phone
You don’t notice that you already fell asleep while you were still holding your phone. The problem is that your phone emits radiation. It could cause long-term health issues. If you want to keep your phone in the bedroom, it should be at least six feet away from you. If you sleep next to it for several hours, you will receive radiation overnight. The good thing is that you can use EMF protection like the ones sold at www.lifeenergysolutions.com to stay protected whenever you’re using your phone.
You will feel tempted to use it again
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You’re already deep in your sleep when you suddenly realize that you have an unchecked email. If not, you think about your post earlier in the day. You need to know if you reached your desired number of likes. Since your phone is too close, you will get up and check it. If not, you wouldn’t even bother. You will get back to sleep again.
You will feel restless
Regardless of the content, you viewed before sleeping; it will bother you. It’s easier to feel restless since that information would keep popping out. It will stay in your mind when you view a horrible news story or a bothering social issue. Therefore, even if you already want to fall asleep, you can’t.
You spend time-fighting with other people
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It’s a good thing to say goodnight to your loved ones before going to bed. The problem is when you start to argue about a lot of things. It usually happens at night when you’re free to discuss. Hence, you need to stop using your phone and talk about these problems during the day. You will carry that negative energy with you even until you sleep, and would find it challenging to rest. The last word you said should be positive so that you will feel better as you go to bed.
REM sleep gets reduced
REM sleep is critical since it’s a time when you restore your mind and body. Damaged body cells get repaired at this time. Having enough REM sleep helps boost your creativity and problem-solving skills. If you want your brain to remain alert and healthy, you should get enough REM sleep.
You might compromise your alertness the next day
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If you failed to have a good rest because you kept using your phone, it might affect your mood the next day. Worse, you won’t be alert while working. You could even commit errors with the tasks assigned to you. Sleeping late due to addiction in using a smartphone could disrupt your regular body clock. Bringing it back to your regular sleeping time could be challenging.
Things to do
Since you already understood the adverse effects of bringing your phone in the bed before you sleep, it’s time to change.
Start by forcing yourself to stop using your phone and other electronic devices when it’s time to go to sleep. Even if you still have pending tasks, you need to suspend them. You can always get up the next day to continue these things. Most of them can wait. You only rest for about eight hours within the day. It would help if you didn’t deprive yourself of having a good sleep.
Another thing to do is to leave your phone outside the bedroom. You wouldn’t feel tempted to use it if it’s not close to you. If you have to use the alarm feature to wake you up, you can buy an actual alarm clock.
You can also turn off your sleep tracking apps. They promise to help you sleep better and track your hours of sleep, but it’s not necessarily effective. Besides, you can track how much time you slept without these sleep trackers.
Gradually change your habits
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If you already became used to the idea of bringing your phone during bedtime, you need gradual changes. You can start by using it an hour before you sleep. When you feel better, you can make it for two hours. Eventually, you wouldn’t need to use your phone anymore. If you know it’s time to sleep, you can immediately leave the device in your living room and go to bed.
Remember that if you experience long-term sleep issues, it could adversely impact your overall health. However, if you already made it a habit to use your phone during bedtime, you need to talk to a sleep expert. Apart from phone use, there could be other reasons why you couldn’t sleep well. You need someone to navigate this problem with you and try to solve it.