No one can argue against the fact that proper sleep today is the key to an energetic and productive tomorrow.
The problem is that most of us, myself included, have the habit of using social media or watching content online shortly before bed.
Entertaining as it may be, this might not be the best decision for your sleep quality, and could also lead to other problems.
In this article, I’ll probe into both these aspects.
I’ll dive into why internet use before bed keeps you up, the negative effects this can have on your sleep quality and beyond, and how you can act to prevent this.
Let’s get into it.
Why Does Online Activity Before Bed Keep You Up?
It eventually boils down to 2 main reasons: blue light emissions and mental arousal.
Let me break down both of them for you.
Blue Light Emission
We use the internet through different electronic devices, such as laptops, phones, or tablets.
These devices emit a form of light known as blue light.
Exposure to blue light suppresses the part of the brain that produces melatonin, the hormone that helps us fall asleep and develop our long-term natural clock.
Without the release of this hormone, our sleep schedule and our natural clock are disrupted.
Mental Arousal
The type of content we watch before bed can stimulate our minds in different ways.
This could be movies, TV shows, or social media.
For example, if you watch a scary movie or come across some upsetting news right before bed, you’re going to have a hard time sleeping since your brain becomes very alert or your body releases adrenaline, the hormone that helps us respond to danger or stress.
Similarly, if you scroll through social media, you may experience the fear of missing out, which could lead you to check your phone over and over.
That about covers why you stay awake. Now, let’s explore the effects of all of the above on your sleep quality.
How Does Online Activity Before Bed Impact Sleep Quality?
Before I get into this, I think you’d be better off understanding how sleep works.
Our time sleeping is made up of different stages, which are:
- NREM (Non-Rapid Eye Movement) Stage 1: This is the stage where you transition from being awake to feeling drowsy, with changes like rolling eyes and relaxing muscles.
- NREM Stage 2: This is a stage of light sleep where your body’s temperature, breathing, and heart rate drop, but your brain still causes minor bursts of activity. It’s also the largest sleep stage.
- NREM Stage 3: This is also known as the deep sleep stage and is the most important stage since your body performs restorative functions such as tissue repair and muscle growth during this stage.
- REM (Rapid Eye Movement) Stage: This is the last sleep stage where your brain is actively processing dreams while preventing your muscles from acting them out. All this helps you strengthen your learning, memory, concentration, and mood control.
Now that you know the stages, you’ll better understand the impacts of internet use before bed on sleep quality.
Difficulty Falling Asleep
By disrupting the production of melatonin, you’re not allowing your brain and body to relax.
Instead, you’re putting them in an active and alert state, which is going to delay sleep and keep you staring at your roof for quite a while.
This delayed ability to fall asleep reduces the time you can sleep, and I can bet dollars to donuts, you’re only going to go back to using your phone, repeating the cycle.
Delaying Deep Sleep
Since melatonin production is delayed and your mind is in a state of arousal, you’re going to take longer to fall asleep and delay the most important deep sleep stage and REM stage.
The results?
Your body hasn’t had time to perform restorative functions, and you feel physically tired when you wake up.
Additionally, the delay in reaching the REM stage can impact your ability to focus and manage emotions.
Despite all this, there are a few rays of hope that can help you break this curse. The next section explores them.
3 Simple Steps to Enjoy Better Sleep Quality
I know you’re probably feeling sleepy now, so I’ll make this quick.
The 3 simple steps below can help you develop better sleeping habits in the long term. Let’s explore.
Use Smart Sleep Apps
This is where the irony hits the fan.
Just like there are good and bad people, there are good and bad uses of technology, with smart sleep apps being one of the good ones.
Apps such as Calm and SleepWatch can help you sleep on time and also offer valuable data on your sleep stages, allowing you to take the necessary actions.
These apps can provide detailed statistics on you sleep patterns and routines, which are saved to the cloud.
This data can be used to provide suggestions, and can help you improve your sleep quality.
Since, these apps are cloud-based, you may need a fast and reliable internet connection.
If you’ve got one, great! Otherwise, I recommend Xfinity, since it’s the one I use.
Beyond the speed and reliability, the Xfinity internet prices are also pretty decent, and the best part is that they don’t have any data caps.
Use Bedtime Mode
Most electronic devices come with a Bedtime Mode, which reduces the blue light you’re exposed to, and considering all I’ve told you about blue light above, this could be a game-changer.
Once clicked, the bedtime mode should automatically reduce the blue light emissions and your device’s brightness.
If you feel like the brightness hasn’t reduced, you might want to do that manually.
Use Blue Light Glasses
Don’t worry, they’re not as expensive as they sound, with many models being available for less than $100.
Like the name suggests, these glasses protect your eyes from blue light emissions.
While they might be uncomfortable for some, especially if you’re not used to wearing glasses, many studies have found them to be quite effective at helping improve sleep quality.
Sleep – The Key to Improving Various Parts of Life
The verdict? Yes, internet use before bed negatively impacts sleep quality.
Being unable to hit the sleep quality level you need impacts your physical and mental well-being across different parts of life.
On the bright side, with a few simple steps, you can break this bad habit and watch as your efficiency, productivity, and physical and mental well-being significantly improve.
