Published on July 19th, 2021 | by Sunit Nandi

Reasons why you should not sleep with your smartphone near the bed

Most of us keep smartphones close during the day to stay in touch with coworkers, family and friends. Unfortunately, we also often maintain this habit at night as well. You may not be aware that having a mobile device next to you for the whole day can be bad for your mental and physical health. Learn why you should not sleep with your cell phone nearby.

Why do we keep our phones next to the bed when we sleep?

First, let us establish why we feel we need to have our cell phones near our bed when we sleep. Possibly the most common answer would be: “just because”. But in fact there is no good reason why we do it. It is just the thing we are used to doing. Many people end the day with scrolling Instagram, creating to-do-lists for the next day, playing games or chatting with friends. After that we simply put our smartphones in whatever the closest place we can – in the bed, by the bed or on the bedside table.

Some would say, “OK, but I set my alarm on the smartphone to wake up in the morning. I need it close”. That is understandable, but surely putting it on the other side of the room would be more wise. It will force you to actually get up in the morning to turn it off instead of hitting the snooze button and having several 5-minutes naps.

So, is there any actual reason why you should sleep with your phone nearby?

Not really…

Why you should not sleep with your smartphone close to the bed

As a matter of fact, having a cell phone next to you when you sleep can be damaging for your health. There is no official proof that radio waves emitted by this device can actually hurt you in any way, but there is more than just those waves that can disturb your sleep.

Problems with falling asleep?

Do you like scrolling social media in the evening? We all do. The problem is that when we read articles, interact with multiple applications or use business applications in order to prepare for the next day’s work, we get excited or stressed (or both). It is certainly not the kind of mood we need to be in to fall asleep quickly. If we have problems falling asleep, what do we do? We check our phones again to kill time. It’s a vicious circle. It is highly recommended relaxing without electronic devices before going to bed.

Notifications alert!

Many smartphone users cannot resist checking the phone, after hearing notification sound from the application. It is actually quite possible that if we are not in deep sleep yet, and we will hear our phone ringing or beeping, we will wake up and take the phone in order to find out if it is something important or at least interesting.

Blue light in the bedroom

Electronic devices such as tablets, computers and phones emit blue light. This light can cause delays in circadian rhythm, which may cause problems with falling asleep or wake you up in the middle of the night.

Alarm clock instead of a smartphone

You should start with reducing your blue light exposure close to bedtime. The easiest way to do it is by turning your phone off and putting it in a drawer in the other room. You need it to set the alarm, and you are afraid that you will not hear it from another room? The solution is simple – there are many interesting minimalist gadgets that can make your life much easier.

Check out the Mudita Bell alarm clock. It is certainly a better solution than sleeping with a smartphone. It uses nice acoustic sounds to wake you up in the morning, and it uses a progressive wake-up approach. Moreover, it has a soothing E-ink display, so it is not a source of a blue light and will not hurt your eyes. Furthermore, it helps you get enough sleep regularly by enabling you to establish a personalized sleep schedule. This alarm clock will gently remind you, when it is time to go to bed. It comes with an additional feature – meditation timer, which can be useful during your exercise sessions.

Some tips to help you improve your sleep quality

Remove your smartphone and computer from the bedroom in order to reduce exposure to blue light.
Put your devices into silent mode or turn off the notifications for the night.
Spend your last hour before going to bed without electronic devices. Instead, do something for yourself – do some yoga, read a book, take a relaxing bath or drink a cup of tea.
Let some air into the bedroom.
Set your alarm clock and put it away from the bed, so you will have to actually get up to turn it off in the morning.

Now you are ready for a relaxing, peaceful night. Enjoy it!

Tags: near the bed, reasons, Smartphone, you should not sleep

About the Author

Sunit Nandi I'm the leader of Techno FAQ. Also an engineering college student with immense interest in science and technology. Other interests include literature, coin collecting, gardening and photography. Always wish to live life like there's no tomorrow.