The majority of people check their social media accounts right before going to bed, however, this habit seems to be taking a toll on their physical and mental health. This mainly leads to sleep problems and even insomnia over time. Although a life-threatening condition like sleep apnea can give rise to insomnia, which can be treated by investing in the BiPAP machines for sale, sleep problems caused by social media usage can only be managed by altering your habits.
Hence, this article mentions sleep issues related to social media and the solutions to help you lead a healthy lifestyle. Read below!
Table of Contents
Sleep Problem #1: Keeps Your Brain on Alert
Social media has so much to offer to you, such as hilarious memes, terrible news, your friend’s job promotion update, and political debate. In return, all of these keep certain parts of your brain active and engaged, therefore, making you lose sleep.
It can also overload your brain with a plethora of unnecessary information, and you will start processing and thinking endlessly about it.
The solution: If you must, it’s better to engage in passive content such as photo-sharing tools or simply scroll through your newsfeed without active involvement.
Otherwise, you should establish a technology curfew before bedtime. Instead of using social media, you should read a book, listen to soothing nature sounds, or practice relaxing techniques to help you transit into sleep mode smoothly.
Sleep Problem #2: Reduces Production of Sleep Hormones
Of course, you can’t use social media without the help of smart devices. These electronic devices emit blue light, which “tricks” your brain into thinking it’s daytime and keeps it active. Therefore, suppressing the release of sleep-inducing hormones, melatonin.
It can affect your healthy sleep quality as well as quantity, and may also give rise to serious sleep problems like insomnia. You will feel cranky and lethargic during the daytime and quite alert during nighttime.
The solution: By evening, you should switch your phone to nighttime mode, as this helps in reducing the levels of blue light. It’s also better to restrict the use of electronic devices three hours before bedtime.
Sleep Problem #3: Constant Sleep-Disrupting Social Media Alerts
Constant social media alerts and notifications can cause your phone to vibrate, flash, and beep all night long. Of course, people obsessed with staying up to date with all the social media news don’t want to turn off these alerts at the expense of their health.
The solution: You should remind yourself of the consequences sleep deprivation can have on your health and make sure you put your phone on airplane mode or even turn it off before going to sleep. You can also put your phone on mute to avoid sleep distractions.
Sleep Problem #4: Delayed Bedtime
Surfing through your social media accounts is like a bottomless pit and a few minutes can turn into several hours. Whether you’re enjoying hilarious memes or connecting with your friends and family members, you lose track of time and this leads to delayed bedtime.
This drastically affects the next day at work or school, as you wake up feeling sleepy and lethargic.
The solution: Again, you should restrict the use of technology before going to bed. If you have low self-control, putting your phone on the other side of the room or in another room will help you fall asleep without inhibiting quality sleep.
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