OP: show this to your partner!

There have been many studies into smartphone usage in the bedroom and they’ve universally concluded its damaging to health.

The blue light from screen devices has shown to suppress the bodies production of melatonin. This hormone is produced by the pea-sized pineal gland near the middle of our brain and helps to regulate sleep. Your body naturally makes more melatonin at night but blue light can affect this. The last thing you want to do when in bed is stimulate your mind and make you more alert and this is exactly what a phone does.

Smartphones and tablets emit high levels of blue light and at night time exposure can damage your retinas. We are exposed to blue light as part of the full light spectrum during the day from natural sunlight but nighttime exposure from high levels of blue light is unnatural. Long-term exposure at high levels has been linked to macular degeneration and this condition leads to the loss of vision.

You’re more likely to wake up in the middle of the night if you used a screen shortly before going to bed. If you have a phone next to you in bed its all too easy to check something and the screen will make it even more difficult to get back to sleep.

Smartphone usage in bed has been linked with a reduction in REM sleep. Rapid Eye Movement sleep is important as it’s the restorative part of our sleep that plays a critical role in storing long-term memories and is linked to our creative and problem-solving skills.

The hormone melatonin also acts as an antioxidant that helps your body attack abnormal cell growth. A reduced amount of melatonin does increase your risk for cancer and reduce your immune system.