Using Technology in Bed? How This Can Negatively Impact Your Sleep and Anxiety.
Do you find yourself regularly scrolling on your phone in bed?
This has become a hot topic lately in the media and our society. Many people will say the only way they can go to sleep is by scrolling through social media to help go to sleep. Studies suggest that 70-80% of Americans use their phones (or iPads) in bed before falling asleep. Younger generations have even higher percentages according to some studies. So…what’s the big deal and does this impact the quality of your sleep and anxiety levels?
Technology Usage Negatively Impacts Our Sleep and Anxiety
Technology use before bedtime and first thing in the morning significantly impacts the quality of our sleep. Studies show late night technology use results in “sleep procrastination” and early morning usage results in “anticipatory anxiety.” This can, in turn, lead us to be more susceptible to depression and anxiety as well as result in a decline in our physical health.
Nighttime Technology Usage and Sleep Procrastination
When trying to get ready for bed and scrolling through your phone, you are slowly training your mind to procrastinate falling asleep. Your brain starts wanting that next social media post or meme instead of getting prepared to fall asleep. This results in your brain pairing your bedroom with more entertainment and stimulation rather than sleep…which is exactly the opposite of what you want to do. So essentially, while you want to fall asleep, you are giving your brain active stimulating content to stay awake. Yikes!
Morning Technology Usage and Anticipatory Anxiety
“Anticipatory anxiety” is defined as excessive worry and thinking about a future situation. In this case, many people when they first wake up reach for their phones. We check for messages, emails, and any updates on social media. But…this has serious consequences for our sleep too! We are once again training our brains that our bedroom and sleep are connected to technology. During the night, our brains begin to anticipate waking up to our phones resulting in less quality sleep during the night.
Tips for Technology and Sleep
So what do we do? The most important thing to do is buffer our technology usage with sleep. Here are three tips to help you with this.
One hour before going to bed, silence your phones and computers and reframe from using them.
When first waking up, do not check your phone. Do other things first, THEN check your phone. This helps separate technology usage with your sleep.
If you do have your phone by your bedside (like most of us), create a new rule. If you check your phone during the night, you must either leave the bedroom entirely or stand up while using it. Do not lay in bed and scroll as this only reinforces the connection that your bed is related technology/social media time…not sleep.
If you start trying the above habits, it might be difficult at first. Start with smaller time periods (e.g., 10 minutes before bed and after bed) then increase this time gradually to 1 hour or an amount of time that works for you. Your brain will likely resist at first as you are changing the habit. Stay focused and give this some time to see the changes.
Still Need Help With Sleep Habits and Anxiety?
If you find yourself struggling with technology around bedtime and it is impacting your anxiety and stress levels, you might benefit from anxiety therapy at Sequoia Counseling Group. We offer free 15-minute consultations to help answer any questions or concerns you have. In Las Vegas, we have in-person and virtual sessions. We also have virtual sessions across the states of California, Nevada, Georgia, and Virginia.
Dr. Philip B. Gnilka is the Clinical Director and Founder of Sequoia Counseling Group, a boutique mental health practice that serves clients in Las Vegas, NV. His experience as a tenured professor in mentoring students about counseling approaches and theories reinforced his passion for helping individual clients directly. He specializes in anxiety, stress management, and perfectionism.