Smart phones, tablets, computer and TV are a fixed part of our life, even in bed before we sleep. Changing this habit might be the most challenging task for most of us because we are so addicted to our devices.
However, here is the reason why it’s a good decision to change: The blue and white light from our screens confuses our photo receptors, which always try to figure out what time of the day it is. The kind of light from our devices make our brain believe that it’s still day time. But in order to prepare for a good sleep, we need to go through the natural change of light during a day including the warmer, diffused evening light. We can’t just switch off our devices 10 mins before we go to bed and expect our internal rhythm to “jump” to the evening setting.
Each hour of exposure to the white and blue rays of artificial lights in the evening, disturbs our melatonin production for 30min. Which means: Watching a 2-hour movie before bed, delays melatonin production for 60 min.
The best way to allow our body to adjust naturally to sleep time is, to avoid the use of devices 60-90min before bed.
But you can’t just take a drug away from an addict, you have to replace it by something with a similar or even greater value. As weird as it sounds (joke), there is always the option to socialise, to talk to your partner or kids, call a friend, share your day, your dreams and plans. Alternatively, an audio book, evening meditation, writing a gratitude diary or planning your next day, are great screen replacements as well.
Start easy today and switch your devices off 30min before bed and try to increase the time without devices day by day in small steps.
Here you can read more related articles about sleep:
- The importance of Sleep.
- Sleep Tip #1: Caffeine free Zone
- Sleep Tip #3: Sleep Early.
- Sleep Tip #4: Cool Down.
- Sleep Tip #5: Black Out.
- Sleep Tip #6: Get Up Early.
- Sleep Tip #7: Morning Workout.
Inspirational Video Tip:
A great inspiration about how our devices change our relationships with Simon Sinek: https://youtu.be/YM521oWNQ5M (2:56 min)
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