Recently, I’ve found that the single biggest factor affecting sleep quality is smartphone use at night.
On nights where I don’t use my phone at all in the evening (past say 8pm), I experience significantly better sleep quality and energy the next morning. This is compared to lying in bed and scrolling social media for a while before going to sleep.
The impact is felt even stronger if I do it for multiple days in a row, but even a single day can have a noticeable positive effect.
The reason for this is that, roughly, the blue light from your smartphone messes up your sleep hormones. In particular, it increases hormones in your body to wake up (cortisol), and disrupts the production of hormones that your body uses to prepare for sleep (melatonin).
This means that even if you get enough hours of sleep, the sleep quality of those hours will suffer. Of course, smartphone use wastes the time that you use it, which could be used for sleeping or something else. However, the reduction in sleep quality basically means you’re wasting some of the time you spend sleeping. This is pernicious, because people often only measure sleep quality by the number of hours (“I slept 9 hours, why am I still tired?”).
However, we all know it’s very tempting to scroll Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, or another social media just before sleep. I’ve found that this temptation is simply too difficult to avoid consistently, without taking serious action.
Personally, I use the kSafe, which is a hard plastic safe that you can set to be locked for a set period of time. This may seem counter-intuitive (“just don’t use it lol”), but this is actually a particular example of a broader technique for self-motivation called a commitment device. Basically, by locking yourself into a course of action, you eliminate the need to avoid temptation later. You make a decision in an environment of low temptation, in order to avoid temptation later. More and more, I’ve found that willpower is for losers.
As the last task of my evening routine, I lock my smartphone in the safe for the next morning. This occurs at about 8pm. Then, I typically spend the rest of the day reading books, in an environment with low light (just a desk lamp). This helps to wind down for the night. If I use my computer to take notes about the book I’m reading, I ensure to use dark modes whenever possible.
By 9:30-10pm, I feel more tired and naturally primed for sleep. When I leave my work room for my bedroom, it is now physically impossible for me to use my smartphone, and I just go to bed and fall asleep quickly.
This routine has the side benefit of giving me convenient time to read books. However, you can substitute other non-strenuous actions that help you wind down.