Growing up, science couldn’t agree if eggs were good for you or if they were a direct ticket to the afterlife. One study would claim they were they were great for your health. Another would claim they were a delicious death sentence. That’s kinda what studies say now about using your phone before you go to sleep.
The common wisdom for some years now is that the glowing rectangles we’ve been staring at before we drift off to sleep have been screwing with our circadian rhythms. They keep our brains alert and awake when we should be drifting off into a screenless slumber. However, a new study in Sleep Health suggests it may not be that big a deal.
Researchers surveyed more than 1,000 Canadian adults about their sleep and screen habits. Over 80 percent admitted to using screens before bed in the past month, and nearly half did it every night.
When the researchers crunched the numbers, they found that both occasional screen users (less than once a week) and regular users (five or more nights a week) reported better sleep health than moderate users. Regular screen users even had the best sleep timing and daytime alertness.
Basically, the “moderate” scrollers were the ones suffering, while the heavy hitters were sleeping just fine.
Using Your Phone Before Bed Might Not Harm Your Sleep, Study Finds
Of course, this was all self-reported data, so no brain sensors or scientists were lurking about to closely monitor the participants to ensure every variable was carefully controlled. So keep in mind there is likely some degree of human error involved.
Still, the findings challenge years of research saying blue light before bed ruins sleep. Several previous studies have argued that screen exposure suppresses melatonin and destroys sleep quality. But…maybe not so much?
According to Colleen Carney, co-author of the new study and director of the Sleep and Depression Laboratory at Toronto Metropolitan University, the panic over blue light might be overblown for adults. “As we age, we’re not as light sensitive,” she explained in a Toronto Metropolitan University press release, noting that the effects of screens depend on age, timing, and how intense the exposure is.
Carney suggests that it’s not so much that you use your phone, but rather when and how you use it. If you’re checking work emails or doomscrolling in the news, you’re probably going to be ruining your sleep. But if you’re scrolling through something chill and distracting, something cozy and comforting that really sets the mood for relaxation, then you probably have little to no problems drifting off.
She suggests testing it out on yourself. Be your own sleep researcher. Track your sleep for a week with screens, then another week without them. If you feel better after ditching the screens early, keep doing that. If you sleep just fine with it in hand, maybe it’s not so bad for you.
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