Quit taking your smartphone to bed if you want a good night’s sleep. This is the message new research is suggesting that if sleep is a precious commodity to you that is becoming harder to get, make sure your smartphone stays out of the bedroom.

The month-long study found that 650 adult participants with smartphones used them on average almost 4 minutes per hour.  A smartphone app recorded the amount of screen time which was defined as the number of minutes in each hour the screen was turned on over the month long study. The app also recorded the number of hours slept and sleep quality. 

The results showed that the more frequent participants engaged using their smartphone, particularly near bedtime, the less sleep and poorer quality of sleep they were able to obtain.

Prior studies have found that the blue light emitted from electronic devices such as smartphones and tablets overstimulate the brain making it difficult to get a good night’s sleep. The blue-and-white light from phones, laptops, and other electronic gadgets in the dark prevents our brains from releasing melatonin, a hormone necessary helping our body to fall asleep.  When a good night’s sleep is consistently disturbed this can lead to increased risks of developing health problems such as obesity, diabetes, and depression.

It would make sense then in order to obtain adequate , quality sleep each night, to reduce use of smartphones and screen time use in general particularly before bedtime. 

Researchers with the study were quick to point out that their study did not prove that smartphones necessarily had a bad influence on sleep but that there appears to be an association between the two.   

Because mobile devices have permeated all aspects of life and few of us ever spend much more than a few feet away from our smartphones, the study is an important one to continue to explore the effect of illuminated screens on sleep quality and quantity. 

The best takeaway from this study is to wean yourself off mobile device dependence at least an hour before bedtime.  Have a rule to not take any mobile device – cell phones, laptops, tablets, etc. – into the bedroom.  The bedroom is for sleeping and other pleasurable activity and not for keeping up with social media.  Social media will still be there the next morning and you will have gained more hours of and better quality of sleep making you better equipped and well-rested to face another day of keeping up with social media.