This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Northwestern chapter.
Even if you haven’t personally noticed any problems in using your phone before bed, it could be affecting your brain without your knowledge. The same goes for leaving on chimes, rings, and beeps that shake your mind awake every time they go off. Leaving them on can mean the difference between getting an extra hour of sleep and feeling like a zombie in the morning.
I decided to test out the effects of setting my phone aside for myself by turning my phone off half an hour before “sleep time” for five days. After only a few days, I was both slightly annoyed and very pleased to find that (surprise) it actually worked!
Day 1: The First Night Was Impossible
“>I forced myself to buckle down and stick to the designated routine. While I was a little antsy about wanting to check Facebook or see if I had any missed texts, I managed to close my eyes and drift off surprisingly faster than I would have expected. It did take longer than I was used to because my mind was being forced into sleep mode sooner than usual, but it wasn’t as bad as I originally assumed it would be.Day 3: I Fell Asleep Faster
“>Having stuck to the schedule for a few days, I found that my eyes began to hurt from using my phone or staring at my phone screen a few hours before bed. My eyes and mind were adjusting to the idea of winding down. While Twitter and Netflix still called my name in between doing homework, I stopped using my phone as much towards the end of the day and was more productive because of that.