Isabella and Marc discuss the effects of losing sleep due to cell phone use and social media addiction.
After a long stressful day, most will delay going to sleep and scroll on their phones for hours on end. Bedtime Procrastination occurs more often in younger generations. Having little time to relax during the day could cause the endless scrolling, as it feels like they have more control over their day. Avoiding sleep has no positive reinforcement and only causes further harm towards one’s health. Turning towards social media when in distress leads to numbing of the mind rather than healing emotions.
Today’s world is a constructed organizational culture where people are forced to follow structure and a strict routine everyday causes one to want to break out on their own. Revenge bedtime procrastination is a way rebel against reality. Doing this puts up a false persona and makes one feel as though they have taken full control. According to the Sleep Foundation there are three main signs of revenge bedtime procrastination to aware of. These signs include; delaying going to sleep, which lessens sleep time, not having a valid reason for staying up, such as an event or illness, and finally, being aware that delaying bedtime will lead to negative consequences.
Markus Sutphen is a freshman here at FHS, he shares his own experience with falling victim to revenge bedtime procrastination. He compares this addiction by explaining, “People say that when they smoke cigarettes and the nicotine is now taken away from them because of quitting, they aren’t able to do it because they feel like they need it as they are “addicted” to the motion.” Markus expresses that the reasoning for the endless scrolling before bed is because he is addicted to the motion of scrolling and content shown. Although it does depend on his feed and only will continue scrolling if it is of interest: such as cars, guitars, clothes, music, and shoes.
Sleep is a key aspect to functioning properly in day-to-day life. Without getting enough sleep it can lead to poor cardiovascular health and metabolic disorders such as diabetes. Putting down the phone and getting healthy amounts of sleep can improve many areas of life performance.
Breaking the pattern of constant scrolling at night can be very difficult but there are many ways to overcome it. This includes charging the phone in a different room overnight. Electronic device usage should not be permitted about an hour and a half before going to sleep. Creating nightime routines, journaling, or reading. Spending time doing self care in the early evening and on the weekends to avoid seeking “revenge” which in turn puts off bedtime may help. Consistently doing this instead of being on the phone at night can be more beneficial health-wise.
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