Why Avoiding Too Much Mobile Phone Use Before Bed Is Essential To Your Health

Nov 14, 2018

If you're reading this, you most likely own a tablet, smartphone, computer, or another type of modern tech device. You might even be reading this on your smartphone. 

Many of us mindlessly browse social media platforms, shopping applications, and Internet browsers as a way to fall asleep. New research, however, finds a link between bedtime smartphone browsing and various health problems, including poor sleep quality.

It might be hard to imagine that the world looked very different just 20 years ago. The first smartphones started to appear in the 2000s, and have since overtaken the market.

Recent statistics recorded in 2018 Statista Global Consumer Survey indicate that about 95 percent of United States residents aged 18 to 29 years regularly use cell phones. The other two age groups, 30 to 49 years and 50 to 64 years, utilize cell phones to the tune of 93 and 73 percent of each respondent population, respectively.

While there have been plenty of studies about the negative effects of smartphone use, they clearly benefit us in many ways. Some of these benefits include:

• Being able to pinpoint your location using GPS 
• Taking professional-quality pictures 
• Communicating with others through email, social media, and texting

However, the negative effects are clear, as well. Smartphones can impact users' stress and anxiety levels, as well as their general psychological states, according to past studies. A more recent study has shed light on another drawback of mobile phone technology: using technology before bed can lead to poor quality of sleep.

We know that "blue light" is a type of wavelength on the light spectrum that ranges anywhere in frequency from 380 to 500 nanometers. Physicists know that both the sun and modern smartphones are responsible for emitting the aforementioned blue light. This can trick users' brains into thinking it's daylight out, which causes a reduction in melatonin production, the hormone that makes us sleepy.

Therefore, using a smartphone right before bed can make your brain think it's still daytime, and that can have a negative impact on both the length and quality of your sleep.

Poor sleep quality and also come with a host of negative impacts on your health. The worse you sleep, the more at risk you are for obesity and weight gain, lower cognitive function, and even some psychological disorders like anxiety and depression. 

Researchers are suggesting that people put their phones away before it's time to climb under the covers, so as not to disturb the natural hormonal sleep process. If you can't help but use your phone before drifting off to sleep, at least hold it further away from your face, as creating more distance between your eyes and the phone might help you sleep better.

Has cell phone use negatively impacted your sleep? Let us know in the comments. Which of your friends uses their smartphone the most? You need to make sure they see the potential adverse health problems caused by smartphone overuse - especially at night!

Our content is created to the best of our knowledge, yet it is of general nature and cannot in any way substitute an individual consultation by your doctor. Your health is important to us!