It’s not blue light that’s keeping Washington State up all night

Do you sleep with your cell phone? Now I don't mean like it's under your pillow or you snuggle up to it at night and say “goodnight”. I mean, it's near to you somewhere that you can reach, like on your nightstand, something like that.

For several years now, experts have been saying that artificial blue light from screens and cell phones keeps you up at night. Blue light is one component of sunlight and is said to suppress melatonin in your system. Melatonin is a hormone that we naturally produce to help us go to sleep. Well now new research says that these so-called “blue light” issues with screens may not be totally true.

The amount of blue light that you get from a cell phone or a screen for that matter is pretty small and there is a fair amount of evidence accumulating that blue light coming from your various devices may not be impacting your sleep like they think it is.

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according to wired.com,

However, while the blue light from smartphone screens is unlikely to be bright enough to cause significant issues, that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to tuck up with a cozy smartphone at bedtime. A much greater issue is likely to be the content viewed.

Reading work emails about impending deadlines, or “doomscrolling” on social media makes it much harder for you to relax and go to sleep.

Last weekend, I decided to explore what YouTube has to offer on my phone. An hour and 15 minutes later, I realized that I had just wasted an hour and 15 minutes of my life going down that rabbit hole. For me, YouTube is a giant time suck.

If it's time to go to bed and you need to get to sleep, you need to relax. Don't watch “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” before you go to bed. Don't be looking at emails or texts that have anything to do with work deadlines. Try not to go to bed angry.

My nightly routine is to put some quiet music on, go into my bedroom, and set my phone on the nightstand so it's nearby in case there's an emergency (I also turn the ringer all the way down). Then I read for about 1/2 hour before I get serious about going to sleep. And if I'm unlucky, I get a call from a telemarketer.

“No, I don’t want to sell my house.”