Ashwin Lewis
Sleep is an essential part of our lives, and getting a good night's rest is crucial for our overall health and well-being. However, in today's world, we are surrounded by various electronic devices and technologies that can impact our sleep habits. From televisions to smartphones, the use of these devices before bedtime or while sleeping can have surprising effects on our sleep quality and duration. So, before we drift off into dreamland, let's explore the reasons why we might want to avoid certain activities and devices during our bedtime routines.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| TV | Flickering of the TV screen may lengthen sleep onset and reduce REM sleep. The stimulating audio and light from a TV may impact your mood and increase the risk of health concerns like heart disease and obesity. |
| Cell phones | Using a cell phone before bed can affect your sleep and overall health. It can cause insomnia, tiredness, and irritability. It can also interfere with your internal clock and the production of melatonin, making it harder to fall asleep. |
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What You'll Learn
Using your phone before bed
The stimulating content you engage with on your phone can also delay sleep. Doomscrolling, for instance, distracts your brain and keeps it active, stimulating it for hours beyond your normal bedtime. This can lead to insomnia, tiredness during the day, and irritability. The stress and anxiety caused by engaging with negative news or social media can also make it harder to fall asleep.
To improve your sleep hygiene, it is recommended to put your phone away an hour or two before bed. You can also enable "night mode" or "do not disturb" to minimize distractions and notifications. Choose activities that promote sleep, such as meditation or listening to calming music or ambient noises.
While it may be challenging to break the habit of using your phone before bed, it is important to reframe the negative situation and believe that minor setbacks can lead to something positive. Your sleep will improve once you can undo the idea that you have to constantly be connected and immediately respond, post, or scroll.
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Blue light from screens
Blue light is part of the visible light spectrum, with a wavelength of 380 to 500 nanometers. It has the shortest wavelength and the highest energy of all visible light, and the sun is the biggest source of it. However, artificial sources of blue light include fluorescent light, LED TVs, computer monitors, smartphones, and tablet screens.
Blue light boosts alertness, helps memory and brain function, and elevates mood. It also regulates the body's natural sleep and wake cycle (circadian rhythm). During the day, blue light can improve performance and attention, setting us up for a better night's sleep. However, exposure to blue light in the evening can disrupt our circadian rhythms, leaving us feeling alert when we should be tired. This chronic misalignment can lead to negative health impacts, including metabolic disorders and mental health conditions such as depression.
Blue light exposure from screens is small compared to sunlight exposure. However, there are concerns about the long-term effects of screen exposure, especially when it comes to screen time and proximity to the eyes. According to the Vision Council, 80% of American adults use digital devices for more than two hours per day, and 59% experience digital eye strain. Our eyes are not good at blocking blue light, so it passes through the cornea and lens to reach the retina. Constant exposure over time could damage retinal cells and cause vision problems such as age-related macular degeneration.
To reduce the negative impacts of blue light on sleep, it is recommended to avoid looking at bright screens beginning two to three hours before bed. Blue-blocking glasses can be worn, or an app can be installed to filter the blue/green wavelength at night. Exposing yourself to bright light during the day can also boost your ability to sleep at night. Additionally, you can use a lamp that emits red or orange light instead of blue when reading in bed, and dim the brightness of your electronic screens or use the "night mode" feature.
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TV as a sleep aid
Watching TV before bed or while trying to fall asleep is generally discouraged by experts. This is because the blue light emitted by TVs can negatively impact your sleep quality by suppressing melatonin production, which signals to your body that it's time to rest. Exposure to blue light can confuse your brain into thinking it's still daytime, making it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep.
The stimulating audio and light from a TV can also disrupt your sleep by causing you to wake up suddenly. Changes in sound, light, and new alerts can jolt you awake, and research has shown that your brain continues to process dialogue while you sleep, which can interfere with other functions your brain performs during sleep. Additionally, the flickering of the TV screen may lengthen the time it takes to fall asleep and reduce rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, which is essential for memory consolidation and other restorative functions.
While some people find that the TV helps them fall asleep, experts warn that the quality of sleep they get will likely suffer. Sleeping with the TV on has been linked to negative health effects such as an increased risk of heart disease and obesity. Research has also shown that media use of any kind as a sleep aid promotes poor sleep hygiene and can make it challenging to fall asleep without it.
However, it is important to note that some people use the TV as a distraction from anxiety or other causes of sleep disruption. If you rely on the TV to fall asleep, it is recommended to slowly lessen your TV use and reinforce other calming bedtime behaviors, such as progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) or listening to ambient noises or music. You can also try turning off autoplay and reducing the intensity of the light by moving the TV farther away or dimming it.
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Lithium battery risks
Lithium batteries are widely used in household renewable energy systems due to their high energy density and long lifespans. However, one common issue is when a battery enters "sleep mode" after a period of inactivity or due to a safety trigger. This occurs when the Battery Management System (BMS) shuts down the battery to prevent damage from over-discharge or other safety concerns.
To prevent a lithium battery from entering sleep mode, it is important to properly maintain the battery. Every time you use lithium batteries, you should recharge them to a full charge, even if only a small amount of energy has been used. When not in use, lithium batteries should be stored in a dry, room-temperature place, like a garage. Before storing them for longer periods, charge your lithium batteries completely and aim to store them at around 40-60% charge. While in storage, charge them at least once every six months.
If your lithium battery has entered sleep mode, you can try the following steps to wake it up:
- Check the battery voltage: Use a battery voltage tester or a multimeter to measure the voltage of your battery. If the voltage is below a certain threshold (usually around 2.5 to 2.8 volts per cell), the battery might be in a deep discharge state.
- Apply a low current charge: Connect the battery to a LiFePO4-compatible charger that supports low-current charging. Ensure that the charger is designed for LiFePO4 batteries to prevent any damage or overcharging.
- Verify the correct charging voltage: The charger must have the appropriate voltage for your LiFePO4 battery. The charger's voltage must be above 3.25 volts per cell. A charge of 3.65 volts per cell with a current limited to C/10 (or less) is recommended to release the battery from sleep mode.
- Monitor the charging process: Leave the battery connected to the charger and allow it to charge slowly while monitoring the voltage closely.
After reviving a sleeping battery, it is recommended to discharge it partially (e.g., to around 20-30%) before recharging it fully. This helps recalibrate the battery's internal chemistry and ensures the BMS accurately monitors its state of charge. If the battery cannot hold a charge after the first attempt, repeat the wake-up process. Sometimes, waking up a lithium battery may require multiple cycles of charging and discharging.
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Ambient noise alternatives
Watching TV before bed or while trying to fall asleep can have several negative impacts on your health. The flickering of the TV screen may lengthen the time it takes to fall asleep and reduce rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Sleep deprivation is linked to weight gain, and one study found that women who slept with the TV on had a 17% higher risk of gaining weight. The stimulating audio and light from a TV may also impact your mood and raise your risk of heart disease and obesity.
Instead of watching TV, you can try listening to ambient noises or music to help you fall asleep. Ambient noises are excellent for sound masking and reducing the negative impact of noise pollution and sudden spikes in noise. They can help block out distracting sounds and conversations around you and provide a way to avoid total silence. Research has found that as many as half of the people use some sort of sound to help them fall asleep.
There are several types of ambient noises that can be calming and help you fall asleep. These include:
- Color noises: brown, pink, or white noise. Pink noise consists of low sound waves and is softer than white noise, which includes equal levels of all frequencies.
- Other calming noises: fan, sea, and rain sounds.
- Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR): auditory, visual, or tactile stimuli that induce relaxation. For example, the sound of tapping on various objects or typing on a keyboard.
There are several apps and websites that can help you listen to ambient noises. Noisli, for example, offers high-quality ambient noises such as rain, ocean, birds, wind, leaves, stream, lake, crickets, bonfire, thunder, and waterfall sounds, as well as white, pink, and brown noise, fan, coffee shop, cityscape, train, airplane, and washing machine sounds that you can mix and match. Noisli also offers curated playlists for noise masking, focus and concentration, study, writing, sleep, and relaxation, as well as an online timer to help work in sessions and a distraction-free text editor.
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Frequently asked questions
Using your phone before bed can affect your sleep. Scrolling social media or texting with friends causes stress or distractions that stimulate your brain and delay sleep.
Sleeping with the TV on can disrupt your sleep and increase the risk of conditions like heart disease and obesity. The flickering of the TV screen may lengthen sleep onset and reduce rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.
You can try ambient noises or music to sleep. Calming noises include fan, sea, and rain sounds. Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) is another technique where you clench and relax different body parts.
Establish an evening routine that includes a wind-down activity away from screens. You can try taking a bath, reading, or listening to music.
