WHAT KEEPS YOU UP AT NIGHT?
If you’re like me and you have trouble falling at sleep at night, you’ll have most likely asked yourself why this is.
Quite possibly every night.
It’s the most frustrating experience, insomnia. You lie there staring hopelessly at the ceiling, constantly tossing and turning as if this is going to help even remotely.
Of course, you do the usual.
You try the classic ‘sheep counting’ method but lose interest at around twenty. A fruitless exercise if you ask me. Then you remember what your parents always used to tell you as a kid when you would go downstairs to explain that you can’t sleep. “Just close your eyes”. Revolutionary advice! I forgot to try that; I’d always slept with my eyes open! Now I know where I’ve been going wrong! But no seriously, you do, for some reason, continue to keep your eyes shut, despite no prospect of slumber in sight. Nothing but an unavailing attempt to trick your body, even though it’s quite clearly telling you you’re wide awake.
But why are you wide awake?
You haven’t had a coffee since mid-afternoon. You didn’t have a late dinner, nor have you been snacking on sugary foods before bed while you binge watch Netflix. So what could it be?
Well, there may be a new culprit; one which you might not have considered. The infamous blue lights. And no, not the type that Jorja Smith sings about. I’m talking about the radiation which your phone screen emits as you scroll aimlessly through Instagram. Evidence shows that blue light is the most potent and actually disrupts what’s called your ‘circadian rhythm’. I know what you’re thinking: ‘Alright Captain words’, give it to us in Layman’s terms’. Well, essentially, this is a twenty-four-hour cycle during which time the important physiological functions are regulated. Getting enough quality of sleep is essential for the effective functioning of this rhythm, and studies have shown that too much of this harmful blue light impairs your ability to sleep which, you guessed it, then compromises this cycle. It’s all intrinsically linked. Think of it like training. You need rest days in between to give your muscles a chance to recover, so that they can continue to function effectively without injury. The same applies for your mental and behavioural processes. Adequate sleep is imperative in order to keep this cycle in healthy equilibrium. This might the reason you sometimes wake up feeling as though you haven’t slept at all.
I’m just as guilty as the next person when it comes to looking at my phone late at night when it should be turned off. Frankly, I’ve got myself to blame. I’ve always been told ‘you should turn your phone off at ten o’clock so it won’t keep you up’. Then I make the same plea to myself over and over again that I will turn it off with a view to getting an early night and a good sleep but end up getting lured into a video about black holes…and then parallel universes…and then time travelling… and then extra-terrestrials… and before I know it it’s three a.m and I’m cross eyed.
It’s taken me a long time to get on top of my sleep and recover my sleep pattern and I know it’s not easy.
The solution? Resist the temptation.
There’s always going to be another fascinating video to watch, they’re infinite. From experience, I would suggest turning your phone off by 10pm and reading a book for half an hour or so. That way you’re still immersing yourself in something interesting; you’re still getting a similar level of gratification as you would from watching a video, just without the inhibiting effect on your sleep. Quite the opposite, actually.
Remind yourself of the importance of sleep and think about all the things which you hope to accomplish the next day, make a list if you can. Then turn your phone off by 10pm.
You’ll be surprised at how your productivity differs.
