The activities you do in the hours leading up to bed can rob you of sleep. For many of us, the thief that visits most often is technology. During the day, our smartphones, tablets, computers and TVs keep us connected and entertained. But at night, they may be keeping us awake. Even when you know about the benefits of adequate sleep and the risks associated with a lack of it, it can still be hard to power down these devices–and your brain–for the night.
In a world where our jobs are often a top priority, it’s not uncommon for professionals to curl up with their laptop and try to catch up on tasks they didn’t get to during office hours. The same can be said for tasks like paying bills, catching up on personal emails, computer games with friends and browsing your go-to sites or social media. We think we’re winding down by scrolling, but we’re doing the opposite.
Finding the “off switch”
We all have barriers and temptations that keep us from powering down. Maybe some of the examples mentioned above ring true for you. Perhaps you have other habits that steal your sleep.
The first step to making healthy changes is to identify the lifestyle choices that aren’t benefiting you. Begin with these three steps:
- Challenge yourself to think about the things that keep you from turning off your tech devices at night.
- Explore how you could avoid or minimize those barriers.
If you aren’t sure which activities support sleep, here are some suggestions to get you started:
- Take a warm bath.
- Stretch or practice some light yoga to calm your mind and muscles.
- Curl up with a new or favorite book.
- Spend some time downloading on the day with your children, partner or pet.
- Journal about the things you’re grateful for or worried about to get thoughts out of your mind before you close your eyes.
And before you know it, your alarm is going off and you’re ready to start the day feeling refreshed. Maybe with your newfound energy, you’ll be able to get more work done during the day, saving the time typically spent logged on in the evenings.
Creating and sticking to boundaries
Social media, online games and internet sites are designed to cater to our addictive tendencies. You are not alone in your struggle to turn off your screens. (See this post on mindfulness and technology for more.) Creating windows or durations of time when you allow yourself to check in on your friends and accounts you follow, with a set end time, can limit the likelihood you will lose track of time. The trick is to stick to those personal parameters.
Similarly, recognizing your personality type and adjusting to set yourself up for successful rest is key. If you tend to lie in bed and worry about the day ahead, work demands, and what members of the family need from you, cultivating a practice of writing everything down before you close your eyes for the night can help tame those racing thoughts.
Start by observing your routine and looking for areas of opportunity to improve your ability to power down. If you’ve made changes and still struggle with rest, speak with your primary care provider or reach out to PPG – Sleep Medicine to schedule an appointment with our sleep specialists.
