I can't sleep - what can I do?Why is phone use at night such a problem?
Phone usage at night has become a natural way many people 'wind down' their day. They may view it similar to watching a television show or thinking it is going to make them feel sleepy. Unfortunately, that is not at all what happens. Your brain needs to release melatonin in order to help you get ready to fall asleep and rest, and in order to do that one of the triggers is a decrease in light. So, any light is bad for this and will counteract our brain's natural ability to help us wind down from the day. In addition, the science has shown that bluelight in particular is extremely powerful at suppressing melatonin as compared to other light wavelengths. This means that our desire to 'wind down' by turning on the phone and scrolling is actually keeping up longer and disrupting our sleep cycle. It is one of the first things I coach my clients on when they struggle with sleep quality and quantity. The good news is the solutions to sleep problems are simple! 1. Catch up on your phone activities early in the night and commit to putting the phone down when you go into the bedroom. You need to associate your bed with rest - not stimulation - so we want to break the 'craving' of the phone being associated with the sleep routine. Put the phone out of your sight so you are not tempted to pick it up. 2. If you need to, start cutting down on the amount of time you spend so you take a stair-stepped approach to decreasing the bluelight time - write down how you feel as a result and keep a sleep tracker to see how it affects you after 30 days. You might find yourself sleeping a lot better in a short time! 3. Create a new sleep 'wind down' routine - find things that create a sense of relaxation and peace that you want to engage in before bed. Perhaps a warm shower, nice cup of herbal tea, calming music, being aware of the feeling of comfy sheets, etc. All of those things prep our bodies for a restful night so we are ready for the next day. 4. Most important - BE PATIENT! Change does not happen overnight and conditioning in our behaviors takes some time. Just because initially you may sleep worse, does not mean it is 'not working'. Practice patience and expect slow change in anything you do.
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next time you consider studying versus sleeping, read this first... I can tell you sleep is absolutely critical. There's no getting around it. The are many scientific theories around sleep and what it actually does. Some say the brain is reenergizing itself, others say it is cleansing the unnecessary information out as well as consolidating the necessary information together. I can tell you that my many years as a clinical psychologist and adjunct professor confirm the importance of sleep in consolidating information. There really is something to the idea of "I'll sleep on it and let you know in the morning." We can try to learn something the night before and struggle with it terribly, then wake up and it seems to all make sense. That is evidence for the consolidation theory around sleep. I have personally experienced this many times in my own like as an adult learner as well. As a result, it is my opinion that a person is far better off skipping the extra couple of hours of reviewing information you get from an all-nighter and instead refresh your brain with some important rest. All nighters really are not supported by the science and you'll go into the important day of the test, job interview or whatever you are cramming for with heavy eyelids and a slow brain. Chances are that rest will help you more!
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