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Hide Your Devices Before Bedtime

Checking your phone in bed can disrupt your slumber

By

Staying Sharp

Updated April 06, 2023

Updated April 06, 2023

A woman using a smartphone in bed at night

FG Trade/Getty Images

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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Legal Disclaimer: Staying Sharp, including all content and features, is offered for informational purposes and to educate users on brain health care and medical issues that may affect their daily lives. Staying Sharp is based on a holistic, lifestyle approach to brain health that encourages users to incorporate into their daily lives activities that are associated with general wellness. Nothing in the service should be considered, or used as a substitute for, medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Features including the Cognitive Assessment and Lifestyle Check-Ins, Additional Tests, exercises, and challenges assess performance at a particular moment in time on certain discrete cognitive tasks. Staying Sharp games are intended for entertainment and recreational purposes only. Various factors may affect performance, including sleep, tiredness, focus, and other social, environmental, or emotional factors. Performance is not indicative of cognitive health and not predictive of future performance or medical conditions.

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