Today, when we have smart phones and can do much more, it is almost impossible to imagine a moment of the day or night without a cell phone. From emails to games, shopping to mapping, texting or chatting to calling, checking the weather to keeping time, we rely on our cell phone to do most of the tasks that we used to do differently.
This overdependence or overreliance on the cell phone has made it an integral part of who we are and how we live our lives. As a result, we take our cell phone to sleep. We either keep the cell phone next to our bed or beneath the pillow, we often doze off with the cell phone on our chest and there are many who would prefer not to sleep because they are doing something on their cell phone.
Let us explore the various realities that unequivocally show that your cell phone is hindering your quality of sleep.
- First of all, if you have the cell phone next to you or very close to you when you sleep, you would be easily woken up when the phone buzzes or someone calls. From chats to notifications, updates to calls, you are vulnerable to all these distractions when you are asleep and when your cell phone is nearby. If you want a good night’s sleep, turn off your cell phone or keep it in silent mode. If it has to be on and in ringing mode, then keep it away, far enough that you don’t get immediately woken up whenever there is even the slightest activity in your phone. If you use the alarm on your cell phone to wake up in the morning, turn the ringer off but make sure the volume is all the way up(iPhone users), the alarm will still go off.
- Let us note some rare but completely possible instances. There have been cases where cell phones have caught fire and have lit up the pillow, bed sheet and even mattresses. Batteries can get too hot, you could use incompatible parts including batteries and there can be many other factors contributing to the fire. Cell phone radiation is a concern. There isn’t enough scientific proof that cell phone radiation causes cancer but the electronic magnetic radiation is strong enough to affect children. It can certainly facilitate the growth of tumors, especially among kids who have thinner skulls and scalps. Even the light from your cell phone can prevent sleep because it can inhibit the secretion of melatonin which is the hormone responsible to induce sleep and that will affect your circadian rhythm.
A survey conducted by the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, Australia, assessed 11,500 teenagers and inferred that those who are tech-savvy and use their devices more, are the ones who are most sleep deprived. Read more about the study at http://www.sleepreviewmag.com/2014/11/cell-phone-addicts-sleep-deprived/.
Your cellphone is a mini computer, explore its settings and customize it to fit your needs.
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