There are lots of things which may stop you falling asleep. Or make it harder to get back to sleep if you wake up.

You could be feeling emotional or upset about something. Or you could be stressed or anxious about something that has happened or that is coming up. Whatever it is, your mind won’t stop thinking about it, and you can’t fall asleep.

Device Down

But did you also know that your phone could be one of the reasons that you aren’t getting to sleep?

Using your phone, tablet or TV before you go to bed can also stop you from sleeping properly. For a lot of people, it is the last thing they do before they go to bed. But it could be stopping you from falling asleep.

The light from your device can activate part of your brain, and make it start working again, instead of beginning to rest. It tricks your body into thinking that you aren’t ready to sleep, even if you are feeling really tired.

Your body needs something called Melatonin to help it fall asleep. The blue light that comes from your device tells your body not to create as much Melatonin. And that means you don’t fall asleep as quickly.

Time Flies

When you are looking at your device, sometimes you don’t realise how much time has passed. When you next stop to look at the time, it might be a lot later than you think, meaning you don’t get as much sleep.

And if you see something that upsets you, it’s going to wake you up and make you think about it, even after you’ve put your device down. No sleep for you!

Have you thought about how much you look at a screen before you go to bed?