Try this trick for better sleep
Welcome to the second installment of our monthlong summer challenge! Last week, we asked you to take a daily walk in nature without your phone. Now we have an exercise that may help you get a better night’s rest: Put your phone away 30 minutes before bed. It’s simple, but it’s not easy; many of us use our screens as a nighttime escape. When I’ve had a long day, for instance, I get into bed and scroll on Instagram before turning off the light. I tell myself that my feed is calming — cake decorating, ducks on a farm race-waddling to be fed — so it will soothe me to sleep. It never does. No matter what your social media feed looks like, “it’s still stimulating your brain,” said Dr. Shalini Paruthi, a sleep medicine attending physician at John J. Cochran Veterans Hospital in St. Louis. “There is still so much cognitive and emotional engagement and arousal.” Yet smartphones are the last thing many of us see before drifting off to sleep: A 2025 YouGov survey found that 43 percent of Americans said they “always or often” browsed the internet on their phone before falling asleep. And, even if we’re not doom-scrolling, there’s evidence linking nighttime cellphone use to interrupted sleep. Starting tonight, you’re going to carve out some tech-free time before bed. If the thought makes you uneasy, we have some tips. (And leave a comment to let me know how it goes.)
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