one of the most common discussions we have with students when we check out schools to deliver our workshops is about how much sleep they get – or, rather, how little sleep they get. This is bad news. Not getting enough sleep hinders their ability to learn and increases their anxiety levels. The conversation nearly always ends up with the same conclusion: the huge majority of them use their phones late into the night.
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Research by Ofcom found that 81% of people never turn their phone off, even at night when they’re in bed. evidence also suggests that people check their phones over 80 times a day, but are also poor predictor of their own phone use: a lot of check their phone twice as much as they think they do.
Why is that such a bad thing? Well, in a previous blog, we explored the research around the negative impact of excessive phone use, and found that it could result in:
Reduced concentration
Increase in FOMO (Fear Of missing Out)
Reduced memory
A warped view of reality
Increased anxiety and anxiety
Reduced sleep
In this blog we’d like to focus on that last point. sleep is crucial for students and their success at school. It is linked to how much they learn, how calm they feel and how well they can concentrate.
In an optimal world, students would develop the self-control to stay off their phone when about to go to sleep or, even better, not have their phone in their bedroom at all. However, we have to be sensible and accept that lots of will refuse to be separated from their phone, with 60% of students reporting feeling very agitated when they cannot access their mobile phone. So, here’s our recommendations to them…
Leave your phone out of your bedroom
Recent research found that being on your phone within an hour of going to bed makes you three times as likely to get less than five hours of sleep. As a comparison, the recommended amount of sleep for teenagers is 8-10 hours.
The objection to this that we hear the most typically is that people use their phone as an alarm clock to wake up in the morning. However, the option to this is very simple: get an alarm clock.
If you have your phone in your room, don’t use it in bed
Reading your phone in bed is not a good look, and the crucial to a good sleep rhythm is a consistent bedtime routine that gives you the best chance to fall asleep. If reading before bed helps you unwind, choose a book or a magazine. This will help you have a less disturbed and higher quality sleep.
If you use your phone in bed, turn down the backlight
A bright backlight will trick your brain into thinking it’s still daytime and stop the release of melatonin. This is the hormone responsible for making you sleepy, and is normally released around 9pm. Although ideally you wouldn’t use your Camiseta UNAM Pumas phone in the lead up to bedtime at all, people who turn down the backlight on their phone and hold it a lot more than 12 inches from their face consistently get a better night’s sleep.
Another option is to use a blue light filter. lots of phones now have it as a built-in feature you can access through your settings, but if this isn’t the case for you, lots of apps exist to help.
If you turn down your phone’s backlight, set yourself a time limit
It’s good to give yourself a deadline. a lot of apps and web sites are created to be addictive and make time fly. next thing you know, it’s 1.30am, you’re on your third consecutive hour of TikTok videos and your night is ruined.
If you set a time limit, don’t go on social media
One of the most crucial things to help you fall asleep is to Camiseta Copa Mundial de Fútbol get to a calm and kicked back state. Not only will social media make time fly away, it’s full of content that will anxiety you out or make you feel bad about yourself.
People get to choose to show the best, idealised side of themselves on social media. This can give you unrealistic expectations and make you feel like you’re not doing enough.
If you go on social media, don’t read stressful stuff
Social media platforms are regularly full of bad news or upsetting content. checking out these will activate a release of hormones Camiseta AS Monaco such as adrenaline and cortisol, which will make you feel stressed, alert – and awake. feeling on edge is not conducive to falling asleep. recent research highlighted how being on social media too much at night can have this exact effect.
If you read stressful stuff, don’t engage with it
Just don’t. It’s never worth it.
You can find all our ideas and resources on mobile phone management for students on our guide page. here are some of our much-loved blogs on the subject, too:
5 ways to manage your phone better
Teenagers, anxiety and social media
What we know about teenagers and screen time
The impact of mobile phones on grades
5 ways students can better manage gaming time