It’s the cardinal rule of getting quality sleep we’ve been told time and again: no screens before bed. Whether you call it revenge bedtime procrastination, an occupational hazard (what can I say, sometimes my best writing comes at inopportune times), or my way of quieting the mind chatter, I’m not one to talk. My guilty pleasure is scrolling through my phone before bed, most often to pare down my inbox, catch up on shows, or add to my “next main” Pinterest board, distracting me just enough to lull me to sleep. Well, according to a new study published in Sleep Medicine Reviews that showed that blue light from screens has minimal impact on shut-eye, I may not have to feel so guilty. “If we take a step back and look at everything that can negatively affect your sleep, we see that the effect of screens has been greatly exaggerated,” said Dr. Michael Gradian, PhD, the co-author of the study and head of sleep science at Sleep Cycle. So, is scrolling not the main suspect of our sleep woes, after all, and how can we use screen time pre-snooze to our advantage Most experts advise against scrolling before bed because the blue light from screens messes with your slumber by inhibiting the release of melatonin, which signals the body it’s time to sleep. screen light intensity is too low to disrupt sleep, with the brightest screens emitting 80 lux at most, well below the 500 lux threshold that alters sleep timing. Going to bed with your device may not be the problem we thought it was. What we should be pointing fingers at for our sleepless nights are our minds and behaviors. “In sleep science, we often see that the real barrier to falling asleep isn’t the screen or the light, but racing thoughts, worry, or stress Phones may be part of your bedtime routine, but they’re rarely the core problem. Instead, it’s often your thoughts, your stress levels, or your internal clock that need attention.” His study concluded that engaging with various types of content, including video games and TV shows, had little to no effect on sleep quality as long as individuals maintained regular bedtimes.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!A New Study Debunks The No Phone Before Bed Rule Screens Are Not The Problem
