How Your Sleep Can Be Impacted By Social Media 

We are all guilty of spending too much time on social media whilst laying in bed, whether it be “doom scrolling” on Facebook or news sites, or “just one more” Tiktok video and two hours later we’re still scrolling, but just how much of an impact can social media have on our sleep?

How does blue light impact your sleep?

Blue light usage before going to bed can have a massive impact on our levels of sleep, studies show that blue light suppresses melatonin release throughout the body, melatonin is the hormone that gives us that drowsy feeling, so ultimately this reduces our chances of falling asleep quicker. 

How can social media stimulate your brain?

Depending on the type of social media being used, it can have different types of cognitive stimulation, the act of simply scrolling through posts can trigger a signal to your brain telling it to stay alert and active, this in turn results in your brain not “winding down” which in turn results in you not being able to relax and mentally “switch off”

Another way social media can stimulate your brain is with the push notifications, as soon as your phone vibrates or makes a noise, your brain wakes up and instantly goes back into alert mode as we have a core FOMO reaction (fear of missing out) acknowledging these notifications can cause stimulation we don’t need before bed, personally, I have my notifications turned off so not to be disturbed once I’ve put my phone down for the night.

Should you go tech-free before bed?

In order to reduce the blue light intake prior to going to sleep, it’s recommended that you have a minimum of half an hour tech free before bed, although, studies show that going up to two hours tech free before bed can have a positive effect on not only your mental wellbeing but also the amount of sleep you will achieve, this of course varies per person, but there is certainly no harm in trying. 

A great activity to do before going to sleep as a replacement for the phone screen is reading, this can have a calming effect and help ease you into a more relaxed state.

How important is a sleep routine?

A routine before bed can be a powerful thing, not only can this put our mind in a relaxed state, it can also prove to aid in the level of sleep we achieve as our internal body clock gets used to a certain time to wake up and go to bed, which can assist in not only helping us drift off faster but also wake up in a more energised state having achieved a deeper night’s sleep. 

Summary

To summarise, social media can have a negative effect on our sleep in numerous ways, taking simple baby steps such as muting notifications and going tech free before bed can help strive towards a better night’s sleep!