Electronics and sleep

cellphones in the bedroom

Our bedrooms were meant for sleep and sex.

(And sometimes a little light reading)

Our bedrooms have morphed into offices, living rooms, and sometimes dining rooms. We squeeze just a little more work out on our laptops. We watch late night TV. We have a snackum before bed...

And we are so addicted to our phones that we are bringing them into the bedroom with us, and it’s interfering with our sleep (and potentially, our sex lives).

I was the WORST with my phone. I would spend about 45 minutes mindlessly scrolling social media before bed. I often found myself waking up in the middle of the night, immediately grabbing my phone, and check my notifications. I would wake up, open IG, and waste 20 minutes before scrambling to get out the door.

We shouldn’t keep electronics in our rooms (including TVs). The light emitted from electronics triggers our eyes and skin to think it’s daylight, and throws off our circadian rhythms. We may think we are getting good sleep, but we aren’t hitting the deep sleep cycles because our bodies think it’s close to daylight.

What works for me: I keep my phone on "Do Not Disturb", and plugged into the kitchen at night (my house is small enough where I could hear an "emergency call"), and use an alarm clock that displays the time onto the ceiling in red light (doesn’t not interfere with sleep). My husband keeps his phone turned upside down and across the room. Some people plug their phone into their adjoining bathroom (we just don’t have counters in ours).

My challenge to you is to move your phone from your bedside, and stop using it 1 hour before you go to sleep. Seems simple, but that does not make it easy.

Where do you keep your phone at night? What habits do you need to practice to ensure you are getting better sleep? I'd love to know!