by Maggie McDermott, Senior Editor and Writer
With all of the stress from this school year, from juggling AP classes to college applications to extracurriculars, I have found myself struggling to get the proper amount of sleep. Even when I was blessed with the opportunity to snuggle into my bed before 10 pm, it was incredibly difficult to actually fall asleep. This was a persistent problem, and I noticed myself becoming irritable in school and struggling to keep my eyes open throughout the long days. I started wondering why this could be. I am used to having a packed schedule, so it wasn’t as though these activities were any different than what I’d faced before. Could it be from my mind running over minuscule details in my college applications? No. Maybe worrying about upcoming exams? No. The real culprit…. my phone.
A phone is a colossal privilege, allowing one to connect with the world at any given moment. Yet with its massive benefits, there exist a multitude of underlying consequences from one’s consistent use of it. Oftentimes, older generations can be heard saying “It’s the dang phone” as the reason for any problem one is facing. While we often laugh and mock their “old-fashioned” thinking, there does exist some truth in this statement. Ranging from cyberbullying to harmful images that can promote body image issues, to limiting one’s attention span, phones have the ability to bring us together while also bringing about our destruction. While we remain aware of some of these effects, there is one effect that is not considered enough: sleep deprivation.
Often, individuals choose to “bed rot” in which they lay in their bed for hours scrolling mindlessly. While this can sometimes be necessary to reset, it is harmful when done at night. Light activates the suprachiasmatic nucleus in our brain, which cuts down the pineal glands’ production of melatonin: the sleep hormone. Therefore, being in such harsh light at night greatly hinders one’s ability to sleep.
So, I set out with an experiment aiming to fix my sleep problem. Rather than watching video after video on Tik Tok in my bed, or snapping my friends, I would shut off the lights in my room as well as my phone, using a reading light to crack open a book. I did not set a specific goal of pages read or time spent reading, but rather decided to read until I felt I was ready to go to sleep. I would test this out for two weeks. And so, the challenge began.
It was quite difficult at first, as I was tempted to see if people were reaching out. I was used to this constant string of messages and notifications. To combat this urge, I visited the wonderful store known as Barnes & Noble to buy a book that would keep my interest. After two weeks, I was astounded by what I noticed. In school, I found myself far more relaxed. Even when taking important exams, I was not overwhelmed and allowed myself to work through each problem meticulously. I no longer felt the immense desire to nap during that typical slump at 5 p.m.. Another result I found particularly interesting was how my body woke up by itself on the weekends. If given the chance, I often would choose to sleep in till 12 p.m. as an attempt to catch up on sleep lost during the week. However, during these two weekends, I woke up on my own at 9 a.m.: an unheard-of event for me. My body was able to rest a sufficient amount during the week so that I did not need to make up for this lack of sleep. This can be immensely beneficial as many studies have proven that it is far better for the body if one wakes up at a consistent time every day, due to the natural five-stage sleep cycle we endure. Further, with this extra time at night spent reading, I have been able to hack away at my GoodReads reading challenge. I know your school teachers have educated you enough about the benefits of reading, so I will spare you this repetition.
So, I encourage you all to challenge yourself. You don’t need to commit for a long period of time, merely try for a day and see if you can notice all the benefits it grants you. Happy reading!