You know the ritual.
Brush your teeth. Wash your face. Get into bed. Grab your phone.
One last check. One video. A quick scroll and before you know it an hour has passed and you're staring at the ceiling while your mind is still fully at work.
You're not the only one. More than 70 percent of people sleep with their phone within reach. Many even keep it on as an alarm, which means it lies next to your head all night.
And that costs you more than you think.
It starts before you even go to bed
Grabbing your phone right before sleep does two things at once that both disrupt your sleep.
The light from your screen, even at the lowest brightness, sends a signal to your brain that it's still daytime. Your melatonin production slows down and your body stays in alert mode when it should really be winding down.
But the light isn't even the biggest problem.
It's the stimuli. Every video, every message, every post you see activates your brain. Your amygdala responds to emotions. Your prefrontal cortex starts judging and thinking. You're mentally active at the very moment you want to switch off mentally.
You're asking your brain to run at full speed and calm down at the same time. That doesn't work.
What happens in the middle of the night
Say you wake up at three in the morning. Maybe you need to pee, maybe you wake up from a noise.
Your phone is next to you. You pick it up. One look at the screen and your brain is immediately activated by the bright display. Falling back asleep becomes a lot harder, and those last REM-rich hours of your night are gone before you know it.
No phone next to your bed? You roll over and keep sleeping.
And then there's the alarm clock
Many people keep their phone with them because it serves as an alarm. Understandable, but it's the worst excuse there is.
A regular alarm clock costs five euro. It wakes you at the right time, has no social media, and doesn't send you notifications at two in the morning.
Buy one. Today.
What changes when your phone leaves the bedroom
You fall asleep faster because there's no screen to reach for, and no stimuli to keep your mind busy.
You sleep more deeply because your brain is no longer half-alert for notifications.
You wake up fresher because you're not looking at a screen the moment your eyes open.
And your morning starts calmly instead of with an immediate dose of news, social media, and messages that instantly fill your head.
The habit for this week
Tonight your phone is leaving the bedroom. Not on silent, not upside down on the nightstand. Out the door.
Put it in the hallway, in the living room, or in the kitchen. Buy an alarm clock if you don't have one yet.
Seven days. And after that you'll never want anything else.
Every Night 1% Better.
Guy Veeke
PS. Phone away, lights out, and then? Make sure your breathing is right too. Our mouth tape helps keep your mouth closed so your body breathes through your nose all night and truly relaxes.
