Sleep · Protocol 14 of 15
Put screens away before bed
1In 30 seconds
Stop using phones, laptops, tablets and TV at least an hour before bed, and keep them out of your bedroom. If you must use a screen, turn the brightness right down or use red night mode. Your brain needs darkness and calm to slide into sleep.
2Picture it
3Why do it
- 1
You fall asleep faster, because your melatonin is not being held back by bright screen light.
- 2
Your mind calms down, since messages, news and games keep your brain alert long after you put them away.
- 3
You sleep more soundly with no buzzes or pings waking you in the night.
4How to do it
- Keep phones, laptops, tablets and TVs out of your bedroom at night.
- Stop scrolling, reading the news or answering messages on screens at least 1 hour before bed.
- If you do use a screen in that last hour, turn the brightness down low and switch on red or night mode. Glasses that block blue and green light can also help.
- Use a simple alarm clock rather than your phone, so the phone can stay in another room.
- Fill the last hour with a paper book, a chat with family, gentle stretching or a warm shower.
- If your phone must stay nearby for emergencies, silence notifications, turn it face down and put it out of reach.
5Make it work in India
- Charge every family member’s phone in the hall or kitchen overnight. A basic alarm clock costs very little.
- Late-night WhatsApp groups and work messages are common. Mute group notifications after 9 p.m. and set your status to show you reply in the morning.
- Cricket matches and shows often end near midnight. Watch the highlights the next day, or watch from a distance with the room lights low and the screen brightness down.
6The long read: the science2 min read · tap to open
Almost everyone uses screens at night. In one large survey, 90 percent of adults used some kind of screen in the hour before bed, and 96 percent of those under 30. The same people often said they were not getting enough sleep. The more devices they used in that last hour, the harder they found it to fall asleep.
Two things are going on. The first is light. Phone, tablet and laptop screens are lit by LEDs, which give out lots of bluish light. Your body clock is especially sensitive to this kind of light at night. In one Harvard study, people who read an e-book before bed took longer to fall asleep, had less melatonin and felt groggier the following morning than people who read a paper book in the same dim lamp light.
The second is stimulation. Interactive devices, like phones, games and laptops, are worse than passive ones, like e-readers. Messages, videos and games keep your brain switched on and alert, which is the opposite of the calm you need. Even a phone left on with the ringer on can disturb your sleep.
Sleep experts have said since the 1970s that the bedroom should be kept for sleep and intimacy. Screens make that hard, especially when your phone is also your alarm.
This protocol is one of the most powerful in the chapter, and also one of the hardest to stick to. Start small. Even moving your phone charger out of the bedroom can make a big difference within a week.
Good evidence Surveys and lab studies link evening screen use to slower sleep onset and lower melatonin, though the effect varies with screen brightness and how gripping the content is.
Questions people ask
Do blue-light glasses fix the problem?
Partly. Glasses that filter out blue and green light together work better than blue-only ones. They help with the light, but not with how stimulating your phone is.
What about my teenager’s phone?
Teens need 8 to 9 hours or more and are very sensitive to late screens. Agree on screens off an hour before bed, with phones charging outside the bedroom.
7Be careful
If you are on call or care for someone who may need you, keep a way to be reached, but turn off all non-urgent notifications. Do not wear blue- or green-blocking glasses while driving.
8Try it for 7 days
Tap a day each time you no screens the last hour.
From the book: “Avoid Screens Within an Hour or More Before Bedtime” (Sleep Protocol 14). Evidence rating and India notes are our own.