What’s your wind down routine at the end of a long day? If you’re found in bed with your phone in your hand most nights, you’re in good company, but it’s probably not helping you get the rest you need. We’ve all heard the advice to avoid blue light from electronics before bedtime, but many of us aren’t following it, a new survey suggests.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine’s poll of 2-thousand adults across the country uncovers how this nightly habit is affecting our sleep. It finds that more than a quarter (26%) admit they prioritize screen time with their phones over getting at least seven hours of sleep, which is what experts recommend.
- Half of adults say they use a screen, whether it’s a TV, phone, computer, tablet or e-reader, in bed every night.
- And a third do it most nights, or several nights a week.
- The thing is, 38% confess that “doomscrolling” - or looking at news and current events before bed - makes them sleep worse.
- And that number jumps to nearly half (46%) for younger adults ages 18 to 24.
So, it’s not just the blue light that’s keeping us from getting good sleep, the stuff we’re watching and reading before we doze off matters, too. “Internalizing topics that are stressful or worrisome before bed makes it difficult to have the deep, restorative sleep that is imperative to overall health,” explains American Academy of Sleep Medicine Past President Dr. James Rowley. He adds that the combination of blue light and emotionally charged content can “trick our body clocks into a state of daytime-level alertness,” which makes it more challenging to get the high-quality sleep we need.⠀