Do Not Disturb: Keep your phone from disturbing your rest

We all have that middle of the night phone call, text, or Facebook notification. You’re dead asleep dreaming about that big stack of money you found in your pocket then…buzz, buzz and back to reality. The National Sleep Foundation recommends Adults from 18-64 get seven to nine hours of sleep a night.

Lack of sleep from smartphones has many side effects such suppressing melatonin, the hormone that controls your sleep/wake cycle. It also causes you to have shorter REM Cycles and sleepiness the next day, which can affect your job performance and maybe your paycheck. If you wish to read more studies go here and here. Needless to say we need more sleep and less phone at night.

Of course it’s easier said than done. The phone is connected in such a way that it keeps us addicted to wanting to know what’s always going on. So how do we prevent it from going off at night? Here are some simple things you can do to prevent your phone from disturbing your much needed beauty rest.

Apps

The first thing on the list is simply downloading an app. There are a few out there that can aid you such as Do Not Disturb.  It offers scheduling, SMS and call exceptions, whitelist, and emergency mode to let repeated calls from the same number ring. There are more out there if you really dig, and they can be a great resource to keep your phone quiet when you need it to be.

Do no disturb features

Most phones offer some sort of Do Not Disturb Mode. The are usually easy to set up and I’ll give you a couple examples;

For Samsung: Settings>Sound and Notification>Do Not Disturb>Either Turn on Now or Schedule

For Nexus: Quick Settings> Do Not Disturb>Select Alarm only, Priority only or Total Silence>Select amount of time>Done

Make sure for Nexus you set your priorities however you wish. You can find other phones Do not Disturb features by using Google or that owners manual we never use.

Other Options

What are other ways we can accomplish this goal? Well you if you’re addicted to your phone then you probably won’t like it. The last two ways are simple. Number one, simply charge your phone in another room. While it’s not ideal it is effective. The Number two, turn your phone off at night.  That simple.

I know the last two are simple and unpopular, however they work. What about my alarms? how will I wake up? You can do it the old fashion way…buy an alarm clock. They are cheap and worked long before smartphones. No matter what you choose you will be thankful.