{"id":691,"date":"2016-11-23T15:21:10","date_gmt":"2016-11-23T15:21:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/naturalsleep.ie\/blog\/?p=691"},"modified":"2020-08-13T08:56:04","modified_gmt":"2020-08-13T08:56:04","slug":"4-revealing-ways-smartphone-can-affect-sleep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thenaturalsleep.co\/blog\/4-revealing-ways-smartphone-can-affect-sleep\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Ways Your Smartphone Can Affect Your Sleep"},"content":{"rendered":"

A whopping 60% of Natural Sleep survey respondents<\/a> reported using their smartphone before bed. While that number may seem insignificant, your smartphone actually has a huge effect on your sleep. To help you understand why you should abandon your phone in favour of a good book (at least in the evening!), we\u2019ve shared four revealing ways your phone is ruining your rest.<\/p>\n

\"smart-phone-sleep\"<\/p>\n

1. Disrupted Sleep Cycles<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Our bodies are prompted by changes in light levels to start preparing for bed. In the evening, they respond to the growing darkness by producing more melatonin. (This is a hormone that\u2019s essential to a good night\u2019s sleep.) However, when you use your smartphone at night, it can confuse your internal clock. The light phones emit are blue and green wavelengths, which mimics the sun and can trick your body into thinking it\u2019s still light outside. This, in turn, disrupts your production of melatonin, which stops you getting the rest you deserve.<\/p>\n

2. Noisy Notifications<\/strong><\/h4>\n

If your phone rings at night, it\u2019s probably going wake you up. An obvious solution to this is to keep our phones on silent while we sleep. However, what may surprise you is that even the low noise levels of your phone vibrating in silent mode can disrupt your rest. (Sounds as low as 30 decibels can interrupt sleep.) Even if you don\u2019t wake up, it can drag you into a lighter phase of sleep, thus causing you to feel unrested in the morning. Avoid this by turning on the \u2018do not disturb\u2019 sign before falling asleep.<\/p>\n

3. Emotional Responses<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Whether you\u2019re using your phone to read interesting articles, text a friend, or simply look up funny cat videos on YouTube, chances are you\u2019re having an emotional response to the content you\u2019re viewing. While this ordinarily wouldn\u2019t be a bad thing, participating in exciting, or emotionally and intellectually demanding activities before bed can disrupt your rest. Studies<\/a> show that this makes it harder to fall asleep, meaning it\u2019s probably a better idea to put your phone away in the evening!<\/p>\n

4. Flashing Screens<\/strong><\/h4>\n

If you\u2019ve followed our previous advice of putting your phone on the \u2018do not disturb\u2019 mode, and have put it away on the bedside locker, then good \u2013 you\u2019re halfway to a good night\u2019s sleep! However, it may surprise you to learn that even the small glow of your phone charging, or the screen lighting up from notifications, can disrupt your rest. As a result, we recommend either banishing phone\u2019s from the bedroom completely or keeping it out of sight and out of mind in a bedside drawer. If you need to charge it during the night, you could sneak the cord through the back of the bedside table.<\/p>\n

For more advice on how to achieve a better night\u2019s sleep, follow us on Facebook<\/a>. We share daily tips and tricks to help you improve your rest! Or, browse our previous articles<\/a> on this subject and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A whopping 60% of Natural Sleep survey respondents reported using their smartphone before bed. While that number may seem insignificant, your smartphone actually has a huge effect on your sleep. To help you understand why you should abandon your phone in favour of a good book (at least in the evening!), we\u2019ve shared four revealing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n