We’ve all been there: lying in bed, bathed in the glow of a screen, scrolling algorithmic feeds until 2 am. For years, we’ve heard that blue light is the enemy of slumber, but this new article says the story is more complicated, especially for adults: “Why Using Your Phone at Night May Not Be as Bad as You Think.” The researchers found that among more than 1,000 adults, overall sleep health was similar between those who used screens nightly and those who didn’t use them at all. Strangely, the worst sleep came from those using phones only a few nights per week. While previous research blamed blue light for suppressing melatonin, experts note that those studies often focused on light-sensitive adolescents or used unrealistic lab conditions. Sleep medicine doctor Dr. Alex Dimitriu still maintains that screens aren’t good for sleep, but whether that’s because of blue light, or simply that they’re too interesting to put down is still up for debate. When we spoke to Ryan Hurley of Lagoon on the SMM Podcast (on Spotify or Apple Podcasts), he agreed that the type of content you’re watching is probably of greater consequence than the light exposure. He even approved our guilty pleasure of throwing on familiar TV reruns before bed to help wind down. What he did warn against, however, are apps like Instagram and TikTok that are designed to keep you scrolling forever: “Why You Doom Scroll Even When You Know You Shouldn’t.” Ryan explains that revenge bedtime procrastination drives us to trade rest for control after a long day. To break the cycle without losing your autonomy, he suggests you move your reward forward by finding a pocket of “me time” earlier in the evening. You should also treat bedtime like a work commitment; you wouldn’t skip a meeting, so don’t skip the recovery your body needs. 

#FatalDistraction