Phones have replaced many things: computers, calculators, cameras, and maps. But return to using an alarm clock old instead of your phone can help you get up and go in the morning.
“Keeping your phone in another room will likely decrease opportunities for distracted sleep and also reduce sleep procrastination,” said Shalini Paruthi, a sleep medicine specialist at John J. Cochran Veterans Affairs Hospital in St. Louis and associate professor at St. Louis University School of Medicine.
A phone next to the bed can mean easy access to scroll at night and a handy snooze button in the morning. If you’re planning to sleep better or wake up earlier to implement new routines in the new year, a small and helpful step might be to swap your phone for an alarm clock.
Stop napping in the morning
The best case scenario is that you don’t have to hit the snooze button. “Ideally, a person should have gotten enough sleep so that when the alarm goes off, they are well rested and actually ready to get up,” Paruthi said.
Hitting the snooze button once can help psychologically, allowing you to wake up gradually, she added. But more than once is not recommended because you are not getting quality sleep with the extra minutes.
At the end of a night’s sleep, people often go in and out of a cycle called REM, or rapid eye movement sleep, said Brandon Peters-Mathews, a neurologist and sleep medicine specialist at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health in Seattle. in a previous article by CNN .
This phase is important for memory processing and creative sleep, and fragmenting this sleep can affect brain function.
Instead of setting an alarm for earlier than you need and using snooze, he recommends allowing yourself deep, uninterrupted sleep until you actually need to wake up.
“When you haven’t gotten enough sleep or good quality sleep, the likelihood that 5 to 10 extra minutes of sleep can make a significant impact is very low,” said Joseph Dzierzewski, senior vice president of research and scientific affairs. from the National Sleep Foundation, via email.
“When we wake up in the morning and don’t feel rested, it’s best to get up, start the day, and be intentional about taking steps that can set us up for success the next night.”
With a phone alarm on your nightstand, it’s easy to reach over and hit the snooze button. But dedicated alarm clocks have multiple ways of getting you up and out of bed.
“Alarms come with a variety of features like vibration, lights, sounds, puzzles,” said Paruthi.
Your phone interrupts your sleep
Another benefit of not using your phone as an alarm clock is that you have an easier time removing it from your room, which is helpful for sleep, Paruthi said.
“Ideally, a bedtime routine includes slowing down, relaxing, and helping the brain transition from a “revving” state to a calmer, sleep-ready state,” she said. “Having a phone next to the bed makes it really easy to turn around and start scrolling,” he added.
Bright light and content on your phone can make you more alert rather than drowsy, and screens can also lead to sleep procrastination and cause you to get less sleep than you originally intended, Paruthi said.
And having your phone nearby makes you more likely to use it, Dzierzewski said. “Having a phone nearby can increase feelings of curiosity… What could be going on that you’re not seeing?” he said. “These feelings may be enough to tempt you to turn over and check your phone, thereby interfering with falling asleep, staying asleep, or sleeping soundly.”
If you intend to sleep for eight hours, but then pick up your phone to scroll, two hours can pass quickly, leaving you without the necessary amount of sleep.
“If my phone is in another room, I’m less likely to get out from under my warm covers, so I get those 2 hours of sleep between 10pm and midnight, getting the 8 hours my brain and body need to thrive.” , Paruthi said via email.
How to wake up earlier and happier
The only way to wake up earlier or more easily is to get good quality sleep, Dzierzewski said.
Most adults should sleep seven to nine hours a night, according to the National Sleep Foundation. But the foundation’s population surveys showed that 60% of adults do not meet this recommendation.
“Sleeping too little or sleeping too much can be equally problematic and impact our functioning throughout the day,” said Dzierzewski.
For better sleep, the National Sleep Foundation recommends a few additional small steps.
- You should expose yourself to natural light during the day;
- Exercise for at least 30 minutes five days a week;
- Eat meals at consistent times;
- Avoid heavy meals, nicotine, caffeine and alcohol before bed;
- Maintain a constant relaxation routine; sleep in a quiet, cool and dark place; and put away electronic devices an hour before bed.
If you are consistently getting enough sleep at night but are still not sleeping well or waking up feeling rested, it may be time to be evaluated by a board-certified sleep doctor for possible sleep disorders like sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, or insomnia. said Paruthi.
This content was originally published in Understand why your phone is not the best alarm clock on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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