LIFESTYLE
Sleep & Stress
If you’re like most people, your phone is probably near—or even in—your bed, and you look at it right before you close your eyes at night and immediately after opening them in the morning. This common practice, however, is a guaranteed way to prevent yourself from getting a good night’s rest.
The reason has to do with our bodies’ chemistry. As the sun sets, our brains release melatonin, a hormone that prepares us for sleep. Exposing our brains to any type of light right before bedtime disrupts this process and suppresses melatonin’s release. The “blue” light emitted by screens is particularly problematic: it mimics daylight and has the biggest effect on our bodies’ internal clocks. When you expose yourself to high levels of blue light before bed, you’re telling your body it’s daytime when it’s not, essentially giving yourself jet lag.
Furthermore, the content most people view before bed often isn’t soothing. You might check email, visit social media, play games or read the news—all of which are usually stimulating, thus making it harder to fall asleep.
Not only will this make you more tired when you wake up, but too little sleep can upset cortisol levels (a stress hormone)—and anything that gets our cortisol levels out of whack can negatively impact our health. Getting a wearable sleep-tracking device like the Oura Ring can help you keep track of your sleep patterns and determine what adjustments need to be made to ensure optimal sleep.
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Here are some tips for how to create better boundaries with your devices so that you can get better sleep.
1. Get an alarm clock that is not your phone.
When your phone is your alarm clock, you are guaranteed that your phone will be the first thing you interact with in the morning. This means that whatever messages or notifications are waiting on your phone will dictate how you start your day.
To prevent this, get a standalone alarm clock and create a charging station out of your bedroom—or, at the very least, out of arm’s reach.
Then, proactively decide how you want to start your day. For example, you could exercise, do a short meditation or savor a cup of coffee—you may be surprised by how much time opens up when you don’t start your day staring at your phone.
2. Set a “bedtime” for your phone, ideally 60 minutes before your own.
This will help your body recover from screen light—and whatever content you were looking at—which will make it easier to fall asleep.
Note that this doesn’t mean that you can’t check your phone after bedtime; it just means that if you want to use it, you have to go to the phone. In other words, it needs to stay plugged in.
When you visit Miraval Wellness Resorts in person, you receive a special phone “sleeping bag,” which you can use to keep your phone out of sight while it recharges (this will help you recharge, too!). Regardless of whether you have an official “sleeping bag,” charge your phone out of sight so that it will also stay “out of mind.”
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Find an alternative activity that you can do in the evening instead of scrolling through your phone. For example, you could create a daily meditation practice and maintain it with Miraval’s YouTube channel videos, which include guided meditations and sensory journeys.
Tip: Minimize your exposure to blue light by turning off the screen and just listening to the audio.
It’s also helpful to put a book, magazine or journal on your bedside table in the place once occupied by your phone. When you automatically reach for your phone, you’ll encounter a reminder of a new habit you’re trying to establish.
3. Create a calming environment.
Ideally, you should not watch television in your bedroom (and neither should your kids)—it can cause the same disruptions to our sleep as our phones. Keep your sleeping space dark and cool (blackout curtains are helpful); introduce peaceful scents, such as lavender, and colors you find soothing. Adding comfortable bedding in breathable fabrics like linen can help you stay cool and get a better night's sleep. Both Parachute Home and Brooklinen offer lightweight options to make your bedroom the sanctuary you deserve.
If you want to take better care of yourself, you can’t ignore the importance of making sleep a priority. Getting enough restorative sleep is imperative to our mental, physical and emotional well-being.
Portions of this content were sourced by Miraval Wellness Resorts.
