How to Make Sure Phone Use Doesn’t Ruin Your Sleep

The good news is that you don’t have to swear off technology use altogether to protect your sleep, but cutting back might help you get a better night’s rest. Keep reading to learn more about the risks of screen time before bed and find tips for getting quality sleep.

1. Screens Take Up Time You’d Otherwise Be Sleeping

If you’re sending work emails, scrolling social media, or texting a friend, it’s easy to get sucked in and lose track of how much time you’re spending on screens.

“There may be offerings that encourage people to click one more time, and, without realizing, especially when our defenses are down if we’re tired, all of a sudden, you can lose quite a lot of time to that and go past your bedtime,” says Shannon Sullivan, MD, a board member of the National Sleep Foundation and a sleep specialist and clinical professor of pulmonary medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine in Redwood City, California.

“How long until you shut your eyes is delayed if your phone is in your hand,” Dr. Hale says.

2. Screens Demand Our Attention

It’s possible that some people have so much trouble ignoring notifications that they’re even losing sleep over them. “It’s normal to wake up, go to the bathroom, check the time, and fall back asleep, but you’re not supposed to be exchanging memes or recipes with your friends in the middle of the night,” Hale says.

3. Screens Stimulate the Brain

The way in which you’re using your phone might also mess with your sleep. “Depending on what you’re doing, it may be more or less emotionally stimulating,” Hale says. And when you’re feeling revved up by that content, you might have a harder time falling asleep (or going back to sleep, if you’ve picked up your device in the middle of the night).

For example, some people might decompress by watching an episode of a relaxing nature show; that type of content might be less stimulating than getting breaking news on TikTok.

4. Light From Screens Disrupts Sleep

What may be more pertinent is that your bedroom should be free of all wavelengths of light. “You want to sleep in a dark environment, so having a small, bright screen flashing in front of your face is probably not a good idea,” she says.

So, how can you limit the effects of screen time on sleep? Here are some tips to consider.

1. Decompress With Screens Outside of the Bedroom

Depending on what you’re doing on your phone, it may not be super disruptive to your sleep if you enjoy a little screen time before bed — as long as it’s outside of your bedroom, Hale says.

Make your bedroom a sanctuary for sleep, not an environment for screens. “Save that behavioral cue of the bedroom as being a special and sacred place for sleep that’s separated from the rest of the day,” recommends Sullivan.

2. Set a ‘Put the Phone Down’ Alarm

Sullivan says that it may take some trial and error to determine how long it takes you to disengage and quiet down your brain. Once you’ve figured out how much time you need to unwind, she suggests setting two reminders for yourself: First, set an alarm that’s a 10-minute warning, meaning you have 10 minutes of screen time left to get to a good stopping point in your current episode or to finish that email, she says. Then, set a second alarm for 10 minutes later, the time when you actually need to power down.

3. Find Other Relaxing Habits to Implement Before Bed

4. Don’t Rely on Blue Light–Blocking Technology Alone

Marketing claims look to convince eager consumers that blue light–blocking glasses or shifting the brightness or color of your screens make it okay to stay up late on your devices. “This is a bit of a false pretense, because it’s actually really important to start to separate oneself from the stresses and demands of the day to prepare for sleep,” Sullivan says.

“My message as a parent and a researcher is it’s not enough just to block the light, because it’s really what you’re doing on the phone and the timing of when you’re on the phone that gets in the way of sleep,” says Hale.

5. If You Must Bring Your Phone in the Bedroom, Silence All Notifications

Resisting the urge to check your phone either before bedtime or in the middle of the night takes some firm boundary-setting, especially if you’re still bringing your phone into your bedroom. Hale recommends making a deal with yourself like, “I can have it next to me, but I don’t check it until X a.m.”

If you use your phone in bed to listen to music, a meditation app, or a calming podcast to help you fall asleep, make sure it won’t disturb you once you drift off. Enable settings to turn off the audio after a specific time or when an episode or chapter ends, so that it doesn’t wake you up later, advises Sullivan. She also recommends placing your phone face down, so any light emitted will be less disruptive.

The same rules apply if you use your phone as an alarm. There’s nothing inherently wrong with doing so, as long as you don’t check your phone in the middle of the night, Sullivan says. Still, the safest option may be to invest in an old-school clock radio or alarm clock, so that you’re not even remotely tempted, she adds.

6. Talk to a Professional if You’re Struggling to Sleep

• Using screens before bedtime is linked with getting less sleep and lower-quality rest.
• Screen use before bed takes away from the time you could be sleeping and stimulates your brain, making it harder to fall asleep. Notifications and light from your phone can also make it harder to fall or stay asleep, although blue light alone is likely not the only culprit.
• Minimize the effect your phone has on your sleep by setting a time to put away the screens and do other relaxing bedtime activities, like meditating or reading a book.
• Leave your phone outside of your bedroom overnight to limit its impact on your sleep. If you feel you must keep your phone with you, make sure all notifications are silenced and don’t check it until you wake up in the morning.