6 reasons not to sleep with your smartphone

How many of us are guilty of crawling into bed with our smartphone in hand? Going to sleep with your smartphone is highly discouraged. Dr Munidasa Winslow, a pioneer in addiction and impulse control disorders across Asia Pacific and founder of Winslow Clinic, touches on why.

Reasons Not to Sleep with Your Smartphone

Reason 1 - Phone dependency

Being on your smartphone regularly will result in phone dependency. A CNN article published the signs of phone addiction:

– The urge to pull out a mobile phone even when someone you're with is in the midst of a conversation with you.

– Texting even while your child is telling you about his or her day at school, and realising later that you can't remember the details of what your son or daughter has said to you.

– Having the vague feeling that something hasn't really happened until you post it to Facebook or Twitter.

– Feeling isolated and anxious if you are offline for an extended period of time.

– Noticing that even when your family is all together in one room at home, each person is gazing at his or her own screen and tapping at a miniature keyboard.

Reason 2 - Exposure to radiation

A study shows mobile phones use electromagnetic radiation in the microwave range, which can delay and disrupt sleep. Radiation messes with our body’s ability to repair itself from the daily wear and tear. Experts said radiation can also impact the brain’s stress system. All of this also prevents an optimal sleep cycle.

Reason 3 - Affects quality time

After a day's work, night time is usually when couples spend their quality time together. Instead of concentrating and focusing on each other, and asking about each other's day, couples who constantly spend their time at home on their smartphones would drift apart and may eventually 'fall out of love'.

Reason 4 - Insomnia

The regular use of smartphone within 30 minutes of falling asleep could result in insomnia. It's recommended to have at least an hour of screen-free time before bed.

Reason 5 - Judgement

When you don't regularly get enough sleep, you're often tired and would affect your judgement, and problem solving abilities. Small problems might then seem magnified to you.

Reason 6 - Waking up in the middle of the night

It's normal to wake up in the middle of the night for a few minutes before falling back to sleep. When you sleep with your smartphone it is very tempting to pick it up to check the time, check your emails, maybe Facebook - and all of that middle of the night activity severely disrupts your sleep.

Alternatives

Smartphones are still relatively new, so it will take many years to find out the adverse side effects cell phone radiation will have on our body. Let’s take the "better safe than sorry" approach with these few precautions:

If you must have your smartphone nearby for a morning alarm, put it on "airplane mode". This shuts down the transceiver.

If are expecting calls and can’t put the phone in airplane mode, try to put your phone a couple feet away from your pillow.

Dr Winslow.jpg

For more information about sleeping with your smartphone or smartphone addictions, speak to Dr Winslow from Winslow Clinic. Tel:+65 63977309 Website: www.promises.com.sg

Written by

Felicia Chin

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