Donjuan 1

Domenic Donjuan

Dr. Sharity Nelson

ENGL 1302 223

8 May 2023

The Effects Nighttime Phone Usage Has on Sleep

Introduction

All types of different electronic devices come with a screen nowadays. Whether it is large

or small, every screen emits blue light. Since people use devices almost all day, it can affect

various important health components, especially their nighttime sleep quality. When a person

looks at light late in the evening, it can “[lead them] to [have] phase delays,” meaning that their

body clock gets set off track, so they get mixed up about when to go to sleep and/or wake up in

the morning (Zerbini, et al. 2356). Not only will blue light exposure at night cause a person to

have less sleeping time, but it can also lead to “increased incidence of obesity, diabetes, sleep,

psychiatric, and cardiovascular disorders and cancers” (Krishnan, et al. 1). This investigation

aimed to determine how using and/or not using a smartphone before going to bed affected a

person’s sleep quality. This experiment hypothesized that on nights that the subject uses their

phone, the subject’s sleep quality would be much worse on nights when the smartphone was used

as much as the subject desired compared to nights that the smartphone was used less.

Method

In preparation for this experiment, a willing student from Texas A&M International

University in Laredo, Texas was recruited. A university student was selected for this experiment

because this class of student is known commonly to use their cell phones numerous times during

the day and before going to bed. The sole subject for this investigation was a full-time nineteen
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year old male student; he was willing to slightly alter his normal sleep schedule to gather data for

this experiment. This investigation happened over a course of four days, beginning on a Friday

night, extending all the way to Monday morning.

There was a total of three materials that were used for this study. The first object that was

used in this investigation was the subject’s iPhone XR. It was the device that was used every

night before going to the set time to go to sleep that allowed for the subject’s eyes to be exposed

to blue light. The second object that was necessary for this study was an alarm clock to ensure

that the subject got an equal number of sleeping hours throughout the three nights. The third

resource used for this investigation was a pair of blue light filtering glasses; however, they were

only used on the third night of the experiment. The control variables of this experiment include

the student’s bed, their position in bed (facing up), the temperature of the room (seventy-three

degrees Fahrenheit), the time the student goes to sleep (10:30 P.M.), and the time they wake up

in the morning (8:00 A.M.).

On the first trial night, a Friday, the alarm clock rang at 10:00 P.M., telling the subject to

power off their iPhone and get ready to go to sleep in thirty minutes. During that time frame, the

subject prepared to wind down for sleep by reading a book. They did not use their phone or any

other device that emits blue light until the alarm clock went off again at 10:30 P.M., the set time

to go to sleep. The subject went to sleep on their back, facing directly to the ceiling above them.

Upon waking up Saturday morning to the alarm clock at 8:00 A.M., the subject rated their sleep

quality from the night on a scale of one to ten and mentioned if they were well-rested as well as

noting any other feelings.

On the second trial night, Saturday, the alarm clock only went off at 10:30 P.M.,

reminding the subject that it was time to head to bed. The subject continued being exposed to
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blue light until that time and then instantly turned all the devices and lights off and went to sleep

when the alarm clock rang. Again, they slept facing upward, right towards the ceiling. Like the

day before, the subject once again rated their quality of sleep for the night and how they felt

when they woke up at 8:00 in the morning.

The final trial night of this study consisted of the subject using the third material—blue

light filtering glasses. These blue light filtering glasses were put on at 9:00 P.M. by the subject,

an hour and a half before the set time to go to sleep. The subject wore these glasses while

continuing to use their iPhone all the way until the set time to go to sleep. Finally, with the alarm

clock ringing at 10:30 P.M., the subject powered off the phone, took off the blue light filtering

glasses, and went straight to bed—facing straight up at the blank ceiling. They once again took

note of their sleep quality and mentioned any other feelings when they woke up at 8:00 in the

morning. The experiment was concluded.

Results

Experiment data showed that sleep quality worsened with increased exposure to

smartphones before sleep. When the subject woke up at 8:00 the morning after the first trial night

of the investigation—where they did not use their cell phone thirty minutes before going to sleep

—they rated their sleep quality almost perfect, coming in at a nine out of ten. The subject woke

up feeling well rested and did not have any other conditions, such as a headache. Upon going to

sleep on that first night, the subject mentioned that they felt relaxed and that their body was able

to wind down very easily. They had no issues during the night, such as having a difficult time

going to sleep or getting up in the middle of the night.

On the trial night where the subject wore blue light filtering glasses while using their

phone, they reported that their quality of sleep did not improve much from the previous night.
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They rated their sleep quality a six out of ten. Unfortunately, the subject did not feel like they

were well rested. They had woken up in the morning with a slight headache, some eye strain, and

felt like they wanted to go to sleep again and get more rest. The subject mentioned that although

they did feel as if their brain was wide awake upon initially trying to go to sleep, it did take less

time for them to fall asleep compared to the second trial night, however, it was still not as easy to

do so like it was on the first trial night of the experiment. They also woke up randomly in the

middle of the night and found it hard to fall back asleep again.

On the trial night where the subject utilized their cell phone until the set time to go to

sleep, they rated their sleep quality much worse compared to the other two trials, coming in at a

five out of ten. The subject did not feel like they were well rested again. Additionally, they woke

up with a slight headache, felt like they wanted to go right back to sleep, and reported some eye

strain. They noted that it was not easy to fall asleep right after using their phone. Instead, it was

like their brain was wide awake and was refusing to go to sleep. After some time, the subject was

finally able to go to sleep, but not at the ease they were able to do so from the initial trial night.

They also noted that they woke up in the middle of the night randomly and said that it was not

easy to fall back asleep, exactly like the third trial of this experiment.

Discussion

This experiment confirmed that reducing exposure to blue light emitting smart phones at

least 30 minutes prior to an attempt to sleep ensures the highest possible sleep quality. The

subject was able to fall asleep quickly and calmly as a result of them not looking at the blue light

emitting screen so late in the night. They woke up the next morning feeling well rested and did

not have any other body parts that ached or hurt. As discovered on the second and third trial

nights of this experiment and confirmed by Sinha, et al., using a smartphone right before going
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to bed “worsens sleep quality,” even if a person is wearing blue light filtering glasses (Sinha, et

al. 383). As “[i]nternet addiction is significantly more among younger [aged people],” they are

much more likely to experience waking up in the middle of the night and could have a hard time

going back to sleep if they used their phone before initially going to bed (Mahmoud, et al. 4).

Repeated emission of blue light to a person’s eyes so late at night could eventually result in

“[s]leep disorders, reflecting psychosocial problems, depression, and anxiety-phobic disorders”

(Mahmoud, et al. 5). Although not tested or noted in this experiment, “lying posture while using

the smartphone” before going to sleep could have been one of the influences on why the

volunteer did not have a good rest on the second or third night of the investigation (Krishnan, et

al. 3).

Conclusion

For this experiment, the subject was instructed to put their phone away early on the first

night, use it until the exact moment they go to sleep on the second night, and repeat the same

thing while wearing blue light filtering glasses on the third night. The purpose of the

investigation was to discover what type of effects using a smartphone before going to bed has on

a person’s sleep quality. The research that was done is significant because it can help people who

do not get good sleep determine if it is because of their phone usage at night. Similar future

studies could incorporate more devices and/or what is being done on the device before going to

bed (such as playing a game, getting work done, or reading) to determine if that influences a

person’s rest at night. Additionally, another study could investigate if the type of food(s) and/or

drink(s) a person has before getting rest affects their sleep quality. All in all, people should begin

minimizing the amount of time that they spend on their electronic devices at night, as they will

discover that doing so can maximize their quality of sleep.

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Works Cited

Krishnan, Bindu, et al. “Quality of Sleep Among Bedtime Smartphone Users.” International

Journal of Preventive Medicine, vol. 11, no. 8, Aug. 2020, pp. 1–5. EBSCOhost,

https://doi.org/10.4103/ijpvm.IJPVM_266_19.

Mahmoud, Osama Abd Alreheem, et al. “The Association between Internet Addiction and Sleep

Quality among Sohag University Medical Students.” Middle East Current Psychiatry,

vol. 29, no. 1, Mar. 2022, pp. 1–6. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1186/s43045-022-

00191-3.

Sinha, Sanjeev, et al. “A Study on the Effect of Mobile Phone Use on Sleep.” Indian Journal of

Medical Research, vol. 155, no. 3/4, Mar. 2022, pp. 380–86. EBSCOhost,

https://doi.org/10.4103/ijmr.ijmr_2221_21.

Zerbini, Giulia, et al. “Strategies to Decrease Social Jetlag: Reducing Evening Blue Light

Advances Sleep and Melatonin.” European Journal of Neuroscience, vol. 51, no. 12,

June 2020, pp. 2355–66. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.14293.