Why You Should Get off Your Phone Before Bed [6 Things to Do Instead]

What is your bedtime routine? Do you mindlessly scroll through Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest until you can’t keep your eyes open any longer? Do you watch a few YouTube videos before you finally put your phone down and close your eyes? Perhaps you even fall asleep to a TV show. 

If this sounds like you, you may be normal, but this is not the best way to end your day. 

When searching “phone before bed,” the top 3 results are “Put the Phone Away!” “Why It’s Time to Ditch the Phone Before Bed,” and “Can Electronics Affect Quality Sleep?” 

These articles talk about how using technology before bed: 

• makes you more alert 

• shortens your REM cycle 

• suppresses melatonin (the hormone that helps you sleep) 

These things make it harder to fall asleep and decrease the quality of the sleep that you do get! If you’ve made technology before bed a habit, you’ve probably become accustomed to poor sleep, but it’s important to prioritize your self-care (as we’ve discussed here). 

What to Do Instead

Almost a third of our lives are spent sleeping. One of the best things we can do for self-care is to make sure we have good sleeping habits.  

Thankfully, there are several ways you can positively change your nighttime habits: 

Put your phone away at least a half hour before bed. We use our phones throughout the day to navigate, buy groceries, look up restaurants, and order concert tickets. However, at the end of the day, our phones make us less productive and more distracted. Putting our phones away helps us get rid of this distraction and sleep better. 

Use an alarm clock instead of your phone’s alarm. Doing this can make it easier to stay off your phone at night because you won’t need your phone within arm’s reach anymore. 

Make evenings a time for conversation or games with the family. Do you feel like there’s never enough time with your family? The evenings when you usually watch TV, play on your phone, or scroll through social media might be better spent spending quality time with your spouse and children.  

Meditate, do yoga, or have prayer time before bed. This is a great way to calm your mind and your body to help you transition from your daily activities to sleep.  

Read a book. Read an engaging fiction series to replace your evening TV show, or read a nonfiction book to learn about history or develop a new skill. 

Write in a journal before falling asleep. This can be especially helpful for people who have a hard time shutting down their brains at night. Write about the things that usually keep you up at night to clear your mind and help you fall asleep. If you’re afraid you’ll forget about something in the morning, write it in your journal so you can remember in the morning. 

Limit Technology During the Day

Not only is it a good idea to get off your phone before bed, but limiting technology during the day can be helpful too.  

Many social media platforms are designed to release “happy hormones” into your brain when you use them. This is why it becomes so addicting to check your notifications, keep scrolling, and keep coming back.  

We’re no longer on Facebook or Instagram to keep up with friends – we've become addicted to the dopamine high! 

All of this time spent on social media is a distraction from our lives. It can even have a negative impact on our mental health because we start comparing ourselves to the social media version of our friends. (We all post the best version of ourselves online, which makes our friends seem more exciting and put together than they really are.) 

After I deleted Facebook (the first time), I went through withdrawal symptoms. Once I got past the constant need to check my phone, I felt more content with life and was noticeably happier. 

Implementing Change

It can be difficult to change your habits. If you are constantly on your phone, especially before bed, it will take some work and determination to break the cycle.  

Instead of making it your goal to quit social media altogether and put your phone away an hour before bed starting tomorrow, make a more realistic goal that you know you can accomplish. 

Start by choosing one night a week that you substitute social media for a book or light yoga. Choose to put your phone away 5 minutes before bed, and build up from there.  

Remember, your mental health is important. Choose to make it a priority.