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Hide Your Devices Before Bedtime

Checking your phone in bed can disrupt your slumber

   

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Quick Win

Out of sight, out of mind with electronic devices can help you fall asleep and stay asleep.

Try this today
  • Leave your phone, tablet and laptop outside the bedroom. Remember to turn off notifications — you might hear them even if your phone is in another room.
  • Don’t turn on the TV before you sleep or during the night.
  • Try nonscreen activities as part of a relaxing bedtime routine. Read a book, write in a journal, snuggle up.
Why

Checking your phone or turning on the TV during the night can lead to poor sleep quality and more daytime fatigue. Your mind needs to settle down for sleep, but emails, texts and social media can arouse your thoughts, particularly if you see something stressful. One study reported in 2021 in Sleep Health suggests that susceptibility to the negative effects of social media on sleep increase with age.

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