For most of my adult life, sleep has been a struggle, and from what I understand, this isn’t a particularly unique affliction. Most of my friends experience difficulty either falling or staying asleep, and we are consistently trying to remedy our situations. I’ve taken melatonin, Zquil, tried different breathing exercises, eaten certain foods before bed, the list goes on and on. But last week, while listening to an episode of Mel Robbins’ podcast, her guest mentioned his “bedtime secret” was that he imposes a screen time limit to ensure he’s offline an hour before bed. Suddenly, I knew what I had to do.
Phone use is a battle I’m constantly fighting for balance in. Admittedly, I can go weeks where my screentime is 5+ hours a day. I love going on TikTok before going to sleep and waking up to check my emails while I’m still in bed to prepare for the day. I’d never considered the impact this was having on my sleep before because I wasn’t willing to make a change in my daily routine, but the time had come for a big shift.
The day after listening to the podcast, I devised a plan. For the next week, I’d be off my phone for forty-five minutes before going to sleep and forty-five minutes after waking up. If I saw a positive change in my sleep or mood throughout the day, I’d make the switch permanent. If not, I’d tried something new and could cross another attempted remedy off the list.
I created a routine for the forty-five minutes before bed and after waking up that I was excited about. I got a new book from the library that I would read only before bed, and I got supplies for breakfast for the week from the grocery store to fill up my new morning routine. The best part: I got a new Hello Kitty sunrise alarm clock to wake up to!
The first night, I plugged the phone into the charger on my dresser, out of reach from the bed, and picked up my book. After ten minutes, my anxiety crept in: what if someone needed me? Had I remembered to respond to my friend’s text about dinner tomorrow? Could I just use the phone quickly to write down a phrase I liked from the book? I held strong, resisted the urge to check, and reminded myself I’d turned up the ringer in case of emergencies.
For the next week, I slept better than I had in months. No longer was I waking up in the middle of the night for hours on end, unable to go back to sleep (which I lovingly refer to as ‘night anxiety’). I woke up more refreshed, from sleeping through the night, and at ease, as I wasn’t instantly bombarding myself with texts, emails, and news each morning. After the first couple of days, I found myself excited to get out of bed every morning and experience the easy calm that now marked the beginning of the day.
With the improvement in both my sleep and mood after only a week, I’ve decided to continue my new routines. The practice has also made me engage more mindfully with my phone during the day as well- I’m starting to find myself reaching less for the phone, and instead reading a book, completing chores, writing blog posts, or just generally engaging more purposefully with the world around me.
If you’re looking to implement no-phone nights and mornings into your life, but feeling overwhelmed, start with ten minutes instead of forty-five. Incorporate something you love into the pre-bed no-phone zone like a sweet treat, a good book, a crossword, etc. Or, skip this sleep aesthetic altogether and find one that works better for you if you’re not quite ready to give up the phone just yet.
Leave a comment