Better Sleep takes planning
Recent surveys show Americans are anxious about current events, job security, finances, and the future. Experts note that constant, distressing news from phones, TVs, and radios, even if you’re not directly involved, can cause anxious thoughts. This anxiety, according to medical educators and researchers, interferes with sleep because it’s thought that the human brain was not built to handle this incessant “fire hose” of news. Perhaps these tips can be used to improve sleep.
A Perpetual Cycle of Stress, Scrolling and Sleeplessness
Extensive research shows that exposure to images of traumatic events, like the Sept. 11 attacks, can cause post-traumatic stress symptoms such as intrusive thoughts and trouble sleeping, even in those who didn’t experience the events firsthand. In some cases, media exposure caused more stress than being present. This creates a cycle: “more media, more distress, more distress, more media.”
This stress response, if triggered by media at night, can overpower the drive to sleep. It appears that the amygdala cannot easily distinguish between threats far away and those nearby, so seeing scary things on social media can increase alertness. Giving in to the “primal urge to scroll” before bed can cause heightened alertness instead of winding down. We might be seeking understanding or perspective on current events, but using the quiet moments before sleep to engage with stressful content fills the mind with anxious thoughts.
How to Quiet the Noise
To improve sleep, experts suggest limiting media use before bed—especially news and social media. Consider these:
- Some advise a “curfew” on engaging content within an hour or two of sleep, and some find it helpful to use app time limits or grayscale phone settings.
- Establish a calming, news-free evening routine like meditating, reading, or watching something light, and keep the phone out of bed to prevent associating the bed with anxiety.
- Breathing exercises, like the 4-4-8 technique (inhale 4, hold 4, exhale 8), and “cognitive shuffling” (focusing on unrelated words) can help clear the mind for sleep.
- If using a phone, stick to innocuous content like puppy videos or cooking blogs. Alternatively, try intentionally dull podcasts designed to induce sleep, such as verbal tours of everyday places.
- Managing anxiety during the day can also aid sleep. One can actively engage with worries earlier. Others will find that scheduling 10-15 minutes in the morning or afternoon to address anxieties. When worries surface at night, remind yourself, “I spent some time working on that earlier today, and I’m going to pick it up again tomorrow.”
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