Some time ago, when I was suffering from insomnia, I thought that turning on the TV with some program would help me sleep better. I felt like I wanted that digital „white noise”. To keep my mind busy and not think about things that would keep me from falling asleep.
Now, does not end the insomnia, but rather I do not know what time I fell asleep. I had a completely irregular sleep schedule.
As you can imagine, morning alarms were greeted with sleepiness, headaches and existential anguish.
Yes, I won't deny that these digital distractions helped me sleep, but I couldn't get into a consistent and quality REM phase, so I couldn't fully recharge my batteries.
Faced with this situation, I decided to completely change my practices.
My digital distractions are just an emergency plan
Technology has become a program to help me sleep, but In the end, he had enough to survive one more day.
I had the false belief that to get a good night's rest, I needed to keep my phone within reach.
„What if I get an important email at 3 a.m.? What if my social media post goes viral on the other side of the world while I'm sleeping?” I thought about it every night.
Because I didn't want to miss anything, I felt the need to stay connected all the time. I couldn't turn my mind off and I was addicted to dopamine stimulation.
Yes, I was lying on the bed to sleep, but my mind was overstimulated and it was very difficult to sleep.
I had difficulty associating my bedroom with sleep.
During this time, I found myself spending too much time in my room I did many things without sleeping such as watching television, playing video games, or working.
In the end, I didn't connect the bedroom as the perfect environment to rest and relax because my brain associated the space with different types of activities.
As a result? My first thought upon entering my room was „What do I do now?” „Time to sleep” instead.
In the end, there are no clear boundaries between sleep and other daily activities, everything is blurred. So you are clear: My mind doesn't know when it's officially time to restBecause there are no limits.
I decided to remove all technology from the room
5 years ago I made a serious decision: Remove all digital from my room.
Now I only have a bed, a dresser, and a nightstand, and the only electronic device I have is a small digital clock that doubles as an alarm clock.
At first, everything seemed very strange. I felt hidden vibrations from my phone even though I didn't have the device near me.
But these negative first impressions disappeared after 2 weeks, I learned to associate my room with my „sleeping space” and nothing more.
So you can see the change, I got into a routine where I instinctively went to sleep and woke up at the same time every day. I haven't used an alarm clock in years.
Today I am very clear, I will no longer have any technology in my room.