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Sleeping with my phone next to me has always felt innately icky. Positioned on my nightstand or near my pillow, the phone and its lure are just too powerful, the proximity making actions like checking email upon waking or scrolling social media late at night far too accessible—and it must be messing with my rest.
So is this a personal problem of mine or is it just bad to sleep with your phone?
“Although the research is still evolving, there are several well-documented reasons why keeping your phone near you at night can be disruptive,” says Nicole Moshfegh, MD, clinical psychologist and author of The Book of Sleep. From notifications to unnatural blue light to the temptation to scroll, Moshfegh notes, the bedside phone effect is very real.
Clinical psychologist and behavioral sleep medicine specialist, Shelby Harris, MD, says turning off devices at night can help make your sleep environment a more peaceful one. “You avoid being disrupted by notifications or tempted to scroll, which helps you get into a deeper, more restorative sleep,” she says. “Some people also report feeling less anxious or wired when they disconnect, which can improve overall sleep quality.”
I can personally attest to this. A few weeks ago, my boyfriend and I decided to start stashing our phones in another room at bedtime (a trend that has been championed by the likes of author Neil Pasricha). At around 9:45 pm, we bid our phones goodnight, replaced our shared iPhone alarm with a sunrise alarm clock, and went to sleep.
On our first night sans phones, we both slept through the entire night for the first time in a long while. Without the subtle shine of an errant notification to light up the ceiling, I felt less anxious and on, a factor that allowed me to drift off to sleep with a bit more ease than is usually available. The morning found us waking with the sunrise (faux and real) and enjoying several beats of just being before getting up and absorbing our respective onslaughts of notifications.
Most notable (and disconcerting) for me: my vivid dreams returned. I woke up after that first night astounded by the vibrancy of my dreams as well as my ability to recall them. I wasn’t even aware of how lackluster my dreamscape had become. But without my phone, it was as if my nighttime visions, which have appeared as muted images for years, returned in dynamic, fun, and fascinating technicolor.
Call it the placebo effect, but three weeks in, these effects seem to be lasting.
If sleeping without your phone sounds daunting, try incrementally digitally detoxing before bedtime. Eventually, you may find that parking your phone—and all of its urgency—well away from your sleeping self becomes more appealing than your chronic scrolling.
4 Digital Detox Tips to Try at Bedtime
“A digital detox doesn’t require you to completely eliminate technology,” says Moshfegh. “It’s about setting healthy boundaries.” Here’s how to ease into your new normal.
1. Set a Screen Curfew
Harris recommends starting your nighttime detox journey with a tech curfew that begins 30 to60 minutes before bed. “Use that time to relax with screen-free activities like reading a book, journaling, or doing a short mindfulness practice,” she says.
2. Try “Do Not Disturb”
If your phone still remains in the bedroom (for now), make use of its features, beginning with “Do Not Disturb” or “Airplane Mode.” These functions, which many phones allow you to set on a recurring schedule, can silence most notifications while allowing calls or messages from select contacts to make it through.
3. Use Night Mode
Blue light may be messing with your head—and your hormones. “Phones emit blue light, which can interfere with your body’s production of melatonin, the hormone responsible for regulating sleep,” says Moshfegh. “This disruption can make it harder to fall asleep and, in some cases, negatively affect sleep quality, leaving you feeling less rested in the morning.”
iPhone’s “Night Shift” minimizes blue light using a built-in warming filter, making using your phone in bed slightly more sleep-friendly.
4. Limit Stimulating Content
If you’re a fan of engaging with true crime, the news, horror flicks, or any sort of social media to unwind, you may want to reconsider your intake. According to Moshfegh, this sort of stimulating content can raise stress levels, making it difficult to fall asleep and disrupting sleep quality. Don’t worry—your go-to media will be available to you upon waking.
