Insights into the wonderful word of respiratory, sleep medicine and wellness.

The majority of Australians don’t get the length or quality of sleep they need, and a big reason for this is our phones.We lie in bed using them before we fall asleep, we leave them by our bed with an alarm to wake us up, and they’re often the first thing we look at when we do wake up in the morning.But just because this is a common practice, it doesn’t mean it’s healthy.In fact, it isn’t.Here are two key reasons why you shouldn’t be using your phone in bed.1. BLUE LIGHTOur bodies are designed to naturally be more tired at night and more alert during the day due to our sleep hormone, melatonin.When it’s dark, our body naturally releases more melatonin, making us feel tired, while light suppresses the hormone, making us alert and awake.This means that the light from our phones (especially blue light) stops our body from releasing melatonin, keeping us awake for longer than we should, making it much harder to fall asleep.2. MENTAL STIMULATION/ANXIETYThe sheer amount of content on our devices (news, pictures, videos) means that when we finally turn the phone off to try and sleep, we can’t. Our minds are full of all the things we’ve been looking at and so we lie awake, distracted or anxious and unable to sleep.A lot of ‘click-bait’ content is designed to be sensationalist and alarming and so, especially when it comes to news about negative things that might be happening in the world, our emotional response is often one of fear or worry.So while the solution is not to avoid online content altogether, it is best to avoid scrolling through newsfeeds right before bedtime. This will allow you to properly wind down and relax.In short, don’t use your phone in bed.The mental and physical effects of our devices makes it much harder to get to sleep. And the best way to avoid this is to remove them from our bedrooms altogether.However, if you are having ongoing issues with getting to sleep or feeling well rested, the best solution is to speak to a medical professional; book an appointment with your GP and get in touch with us.Better sleep, means a better life.