Sending and receiving messages late at night can make it hard to fall asleep. And those late night pings, rings, and vibrations can wake you up and leave you feeling tired and unfocused when it's time for school. Lack of sleep, or interrupted sleep, can affect everything from your mood to your sports performance.
Sure, you want to stay connected with your friends, but how useful can you be when you're exhausted? Give your "tech" (texts, social media, emails, calls) a rest from bedtime until your alarm clock rings so you can rest.
How can you ease out of being available all the time to unplugging at bedtime? Here are some tips to follow at night that will help boost your energy and focus in the morning:
- Log off your messaging apps, social media, and email. Pings in the middle of the night can interrupt your sleep — even if you don't get up to answer them. And, more than likely, if your friends see that you're logged out, they'll log out too.
- Turn off your phone (don't just set it on vibrate) when it's time for bed. Buzzes can be just as loud as beeps or rings, especially late at night when everything else is quiet. Plus, if your friends have no one to talk to, maybe they'll be inspired to turn off their cell and catch some Zzzs, too.
- Get in the habit of powering off your devices — especially if they're in your room. Turn off all electronics, like laptops, tablets, TVs, and video game consoles. Sometimes just logging off is not enough. Blinking lights and glowing screens can make it harder to fall and stay asleep.
- Get your phone and tablet out of your room completely. Try charging your phone or tablet overnight in a separate room. While the battery is restoring, you can get the sleep you need to recharge your own battery. Having electronics in another room makes it less likely that you'll use them during and after bedtime.
- Make getting enough sleep your way to look and feel good. Getting sleep is a great way to look and feel refreshed and focused in the morning. To get the sleep you need, tell your friends you when you will stop answering texts, emails, or calls. This way, they'll know their beeps or buzzes will have to wait. Try to power down about an hour before bedtime.
It can be quite a challenge to turn off technology at night. But sticking to a cut-off curfew for your devices will help you ease into bedtime and give your brain some needed tech-free downtime. And if you need an excuse, just say your parents are making you do it.