We all know the drill. We say we’re going to bed early, so we do our intricate skincare routines, light a candle, maybe even drink a chamomile tea.
Then, suddenly, it’s 2 am, you’re still scrolling Instagram and you have to get up in four hours.
Our phones are sabotaging our sleep. In fact, new research has found that almost one in four UK adults have trouble sleeping because they spend too long on their phones before bed.
As many as 12 million people in the UK could be affected by the problem – and a lot of it stems from the blue light that our phone gives off. It mimics daylight which may prevent the body releasing melatonin, the hormone which aids sleep.
But there are proactive things you can do to change your relationship with your phone before bedtime and help you drift off into a peaceful, screen-free slumber.
We asked the experts at meditiation app Calm for their top tips to make your phone sleep-friendly, because while it’s not always feasible to turn your phone off or put it in a different room, you can make its effects less harmful.
‘Smartphones are brilliantly useful and have become our 24/7 companions. However, phones can actually disrupt our sleep, explaining why we often feel so tired but can’t seem to nod off at night,’ they say.
‘Rather than mindlessly using your phone in all the wrong ways to perpetuate the cycle of tossing and turning, learn how it can improve your bedtime routine.
‘With the appropriate settings and with the apps, your phone can help – rather than hinder – your transition from the hustle and bustle of the day to the calm of the evening and bedtime.’
How to make your phone sleep-friendly
Switch on night mode
This setting reduces the brightness of your phone’s screen and filters out the blue light.
If you like, you can automate this setting to turn on at a certain time every day. Certain apps, such as Twitter and f.lux, have night-time versions.
Set up an automatic ‘do not disturb’ or use airplane mode
This turns off all notifications and mutes all calls and messages. Airplane mode lets you continue to use the alarm clock certain apps, so no need to worry about accidentally sleeping in.
Turn off or customise notifications
Some apps, such as Snapchat and Instagram, have default settings that trigger notifications to draw you back to the app.
Customising such settings to reduce the number of notifications you receive can help you use your phone more mindfully.
Track and limit your usage
Use an app like Moment, Toggl or Harvest, or even inbuilt features of your phone, to track your usage time.
If you find yourself on Twitter until the early hours of the morning, it might be useful to switch off activity from a certain time or after a certain number of minutes in an app.
Listen to a bedtime story
Calm’s library of Sleep Stories is designed specifically to send you to the land of nod, with soothing voices from the likes of Matthew McConaughey reading fairy tales.
If you’re looking for something a little more ambient, the range of natural soundscapes on the app include the likes of gentle rain, a crackling fire, or even background urban noises, to help relax your mind and send you to dreamland.
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