Smartphones are magical pieces of technology that are useful for almost every part of our lives. However, they can also be very harmful to one very important part of your life – your sleep schedule. A sleep schedule is helpful for a number of reasons, but when it is disrupted, you will have a much harder time functioning during the day.
Blue Light = More Awake
Pretty much every phone nowadays uses an LCD screen. Those screens are great for touch sensitivity but they emit mostly blue light, which tells our eyes and brains that we need to wake up and pay more attention than typical lights.
This means that when you use your phone in bed, you are going to have a harder time getting to sleep at night. There are ways to mitigate the level of blue light you take in, but it is always going to cause problems for you in large quantities.
Constant Availability = More Stressed
Cell phones have made it possible for their users to be always available. This can be a blessing and a curse at the same time, but it has certainly contributed to the increased levels of stress we all feel when we get an unexpected phone call or a work email late at night.
Even when you try your best to set boundaries about your phone usage, it can be difficult to maintain them. Especially considering the dopamine rush you get from different notifications coming it.
How Can You Make Your Phone Less Problematic?
Here are some tips to help you make your phone a little bit more usable and more relaxing in the evening.
Night Mode
To help mitigate the effects of the blue light on your psyche and your sleep pattern, try turning on night mode. It puts a sepia filter over everything that limits the amount of blue on the screen which can help you to get to sleep easier at night.
Do Not Disturb Mode
You might know about airplane mode which blocks you from contact entirely, but if you still want to be available, there’s another option for you. Do Not Disturb allows you to set people in your favorites and lets those calls through while quieting notifications for other, less important things. This way, you’ll still get the call in case of an emergency but you won’t have your phone lighting up constantly in the middle of the night.
Limit Social Media and Games in the Evening
The best way to help yourself avoid sleep issues stemming from your phone is to avoid using your phone while you lay in bed. Try reading a physical book or amusing yourself with something that doesn’t involve a screen.
These changes will help you to limit your issues with your smartphone. If you find that even after you make lifestyle changes you still struggle to sleep, you should think about talking to your doctor. There could be a medical issue causing you to have issues that you do not know about.