Turn off Your Cell Phone!
It is not uncommon for people to struggle with sleep. While some folks have difficulty falling asleep or difficulty with early waking, others will not feel rested, despite having slept through the previous night without apparent problem.
When presented with this issue in the context of therapy, I begin with an assessment of sleep hygiene. “Sleep hygiene?!” you say. “What in the world is sleep hygiene!?” Just as there are more effective ways to keep your mouth healthy (i.e. oral hygiene), there are guidelines that can aid in getting the most from your sleeping hours (i.e. sleep hygiene).
Most people are familiar with “good sleep basics,” such as not eating too late at night, getting exercise during the day, limiting alcohol consumption, and staying away from caffeine. However, one of the most powerful influences on sleep is exposure to ambient light. Sitting in front of computers, TVs, tablets, and cell phones before going to sleep is an increasingly common habit. It's also a habit that might be the biggest culprit in our poor sleep patterns.
Exposure to light in the evening tends to delay the production of the hormone melatonin, a hormone that creates the sensation of sleepiness and a desire to go to bed. Exposure to light in the middle of the night—even in small amounts—can also disrupt the sleep cycle, leading us to feel exhausted. This seems to be the disruption of which people are most unaware—they will leave their cell phones on during the night and when someone contacts them, their phones chime, ring, and light-up their otherwise darkened room.
One of the best things you can do to improve the quality of your sleep is to decrease the amount of light you experience after sundown. Engaging in a quiet activity in low-light before bedtime, installing black-out shades to prevent the light from street lamps and street traffic from coming-in, covering illuminated clocks, and, yes, even turning off your cell phones, are all things you can do to sleep more soundly and ultimately, to feel more rested.
