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Nights 4 to 7 · Lesson 6 of 11

A Wind-Down Hour and the Phone: Better Sleep Habits

Build a calm last hour before bed, keep your phone out of reach and use a short to-do list to settle a busy mind.

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THE WRITTEN LESSONFollow along at your pace

The hour before bed can make or break your night. In this lesson you build a simple wind-down hour, and deal with the phone. This is general information, not medical advice.

A quiet hour

Health agencies suggest using the last hour before bed as quiet time, without bright light from TVs or computers. Dim the lights, and do something calm.

A timeline with an Evening block followed by a navy block, Last hour: quiet time, then a moon marked Lights out. Below are a dim lamp labelled Dim the lights, a TV and laptop crossed out and labelled No bright screens, and an armchair labelled Do something calm.(opens the full-size picture)
Quiet, dim and calm for the last hour.

The phone

Phones are the hardest part. In a survey of more than 45,000 students, each extra hour of screen use in bed went with about 24 minutes less sleep. The researchers think the screen mostly replaces sleep time, whatever you are doing on it. This was one survey of students, and a survey shows a link, not proof of cause.

A line chart with hours of screen use in bed from 0 to 3 along the bottom and sleep on the side. A red line slopes steadily down. A phone sits on a bed beside the words About 24 min less sleep per extra hour and the label One survey, 45,000+ students.(opens the full-size picture)
More screen time in bed went with less sleep.

Put it out of reach

So put the phone out of reach. Charge it outside the bedroom, and turn off autoplay. If you protect just one screen-free stretch, make it the time between getting into bed and falling asleep.

Three drawings. A door with a charging phone beside it is labelled Charge it outside the bedroom. A switch turned off is labelled Autoplay off. A bed with a tick is labelled Screen-free in bed.(opens the full-size picture)
Three small changes for the phone.

What if the phone is your alarm?

If you need a phone nearby, for an alarm or for a child or relative, you do not have to give up that safety. Aim for the phone to be out of arm’s reach and face down, and try the screen-free stretch between getting into bed and falling asleep.

Write tomorrow’s to-do list

Busy mind? Try writing tomorrow’s to-do list. In one small trial, people who spent five minutes writing a to-do list before bed fell asleep about nine minutes faster than people who listed tasks they had already done. It was one small trial, so treat it as something to try.

A notepad headed Tomorrow with three tick boxes, Pay the bill, Pack my bag and Send the email, and a pencil. Beside it a clock says 5 min writing it before bed, and a bed says Fell asleep about 9 min faster, with the label One small trial.(opens the full-size picture)
Five minutes of writing, one small trial.

Make room for your own time

Many people stay up late because the evening is the only time that feels like their own. If that sounds like you, try moving some of that me-time earlier, and set a wind-down alarm an hour before lights out.

An evening timeline with Early evening, Evening and a navy Late night block, and a moon at the end. A yellow label, Me-time, sits at the early end. Below it, an alarm clock is labelled Wind-down alarm, 1 hour before lights out.(opens the full-size picture)
Move me-time earlier, and let an alarm start the hour.

An example evening

For example, with a 6:30 alarm and eight hours in bed, lights out is 10:30, so the wind-down alarm goes off at 9:30. Then the phone goes on charge, the lights go down, and the calm hour begins.

A bar from 9:30 pm to 6:30 am. A yellow part is labelled 1 hour and a navy part 8 hours in bed. Labels say 9:30 pm Wind-down alarm, 10:30 pm Lights out, and 6:30 am Alarm, with a charging phone and a lamp below.(opens the full-size picture)
One example: wind-down at 9:30, lights out at 10:30.

Your own times will differ. Use the lights-out time you worked out on Night 1, and count one hour back from it.

YOUR TURN

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Read the full lesson script

The hour before bed can make or break your night. In this lesson, you'll build a simple wind-down hour, and deal with the phone.

Health agencies suggest using the last hour before bed as quiet time, without bright light from TVs or computers. Dim the lights, and do something calm.

Phones are the hardest part. In a survey of more than 45,000 students, each extra hour of screen use in bed went with about 24 minutes less sleep. The researchers think the screen mostly replaces sleep time, whatever you're doing on it.

So put the phone out of reach. Charge it outside the bedroom, and turn off autoplay. If you protect just one screen-free stretch, make it the time between getting into bed and falling asleep.

Busy mind? Try writing tomorrow's to-do list. In one small trial, people who spent five minutes writing a to-do list before bed fell asleep about nine minutes faster than people who listed tasks they'd already done.

Many people stay up late because the evening is the only time that feels like their own. Try moving some of that me-time earlier, and set a wind-down alarm an hour before lights out.

For example, with a 6:30 alarm and eight hours in bed, lights out is 10:30, so the wind-down alarm goes off at 9:30. Then the phone goes on charge, the lights go down, and the calm hour begins.

So remember: make the last hour quiet and dim. Keep the phone out of reach, especially in bed. And a short to-do list can settle a busy mind. Before the next lesson, set a wind-down alarm an hour before lights out, and write tomorrow's to-do list. In the next lesson, you'll set up your bedroom for sleep.