Cultivating A Brain-Friendly Bedtime Routine

We all know that feeling: after a long day at work, university, or school, when you have no more work… except jumping into bed and relaxing. Maybe with a book, some music, or most probably, a device. We call this time “me time”, a time to doomscroll or binge watch a TV show, thinking that we’re giving our minds and bodies a break after a long day. Using something that gives us a hit of dopamine makes us feel like we’re relaxed, but what is actually happening is quite literally the opposite.

While we’re all familiar with the notion that excessive social media usage has negative effects on mental health, studies suggest that rather than the amount of time spent on social media, the way that people emotionally engage with platforms has a bigger impact on sleep quality. Those who visit social media more frequently and who are more emotionally invested in it have poorer sleep habits. (Jenkins-Guarnieri et al., 2013).

Political updates, and even positive, exciting news can cause presleep arousal (an overactive mind), making it difficult to relax and fall asleep. Additionally, upward social comparison increases stress and feelings of inadequacy which naturally disrupt the body’s process of falling asleep (de Vries et al., 2018).

Nighttime-specific social media use is related to bedtime procrastination, where people want to regain control of the time “lost” in the day, especially if they have a demanding job. They procrastinate by putting off sleep to make time for the activities and hobbies that they like to do, however, by doing so, the body produces wake-promoting hormones, which are supposed to decrease at night (Serrano, 2024). Such behaviours increase blood pressure, anxiety, fatigue, memory, and so on (Ashton et al., 2020).

How do I use social media without impacting my sleep?

Completely stopping the use of social media is unlikely, but there are ways to avoid the negative impact on sleep. For example, avoid emotionally charged content an hour before going to bed, thus giving your mind time to wind down. Also, pause every now and then and ask yourself if you actually want to be on the app, or if you’re simply stuck in a rut.

Even watching TV can be detrimental to your circadian rhythm (Robards, 2025). This is due to the blue light from your phone screen. The most prominent form of blue light comes from the sun; however it is also transmitted through device screens and certain light bulbs. Although any kind of light has the potential to decrease melatonin secretion, blue light does so more intensely (3 Reasons to Ditch Your Phone Before Bed, n.d.). Certain types of lighting, such as, bright bedroom lighting, can decrease nocturnal production of melatonin by up to 90 minutes as compared to dim lighting (‘How Electronics Affect Sleep’, 2017).

Instead of watching TV, try switching to reading. E-readers such as the Kindle (the new backlit editions) also emit blue light but in much lesser quantities; however, it is still a good idea to reduce the screen brightness as much as possible. An even better idea would be to read physical books, hence avoiding blue light exposure.

You might be thinking that these changes are too drastic to make, but the truth is you don’t need a “No screens after 10pm” rule, or any other extreme change. While that would always be preferred, it’s very unlikely that anyone would follow such rules in a day and age where devices play such important, central roles in our lives.

Instead, here are some simple changes that you can make to regulate your body and your sleep.

Create a relaxing bedtime routine:

• Brush your teeth right after dinner- that way, it won’t be a chore when you’re feeling sleepy.

• The Japanese have a custom of having a warm bath before bed (furo). This has a scientific reason behind it- the warm water stimulates the body’s thermoregulation system, which reduces the core temperature. This reduction in body temperature is a circadian sleep signal that stimulates the release of melatonin (A Dip a Day, 2020). While most people do not have access to the traditional furo bathtub, these benefits can still be achieved with a regular bathtub.

• Bedtime procrastination stems from a feeling of loss of control over one’s own schedule. Move your “me time” to earlier in the day. Try to create a window in your day, during which you can indulge in your hobbies or an exercise session. Better still, meal prep on weekend, to save up to an hour of cooking each weeknight.

• Practise yoga before bed. A study found that people who had trouble sleeping slept an average of 36 minutes longer each night and woke up fewer times throughout the night after practising Kundalini meditation and breathing practise (Increased Well-Being, 2020).

• Certain types of teas can yield benefits with regards to sleep. A study showed that chamomile tea reduces the number of awakenings throughout the night, however, it hasn’t been shown to improve the duration of sleep or daytime functioning (Kazemi et al., 2024)

Most people have long and tiring days, and social media companies have conditioned us into believing that watching YouTube videos and scrolling through reels is a way to destress. Our bedtime routines play an important role in determining how the following day goes, with regards to stress, fatigue, and both mental and physical well-being. It is important that we are aware of the information and media that we consume before bed, making sure to cultivate a slow and meaningful unwinding experience.

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References:

3 Reasons to Ditch Your Phone Before Bed. (n.d.). Cleveland Clinic. Retrieved 27 January 2026, from https://health.clevelandclinic.org/put-the-phone-away-3-reasons-why-looking-at-it-before-bed-is-a-bad-habit

A Dip a Day: The Surprising Health Benefits of the Japanese Bath. (2020, September 29). Nippon.Com. https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/g00883/

Ashton, J. E., Harrington, M. O., Langthorne, D., Ngo, H.-V. V., & Cairney, S. A. (2020). Sleep deprivation induces fragmented memory loss. Learning & Memory, 27(4), 130–135. https://doi.org/10.1101/lm.050757.119

de Vries, D. A., Möller, A. M., Wieringa, M. S., Eigenraam, A. W., & Hamelink, K. (2018). Social Comparison as the Thief of Joy: Emotional Consequences of Viewing Strangers’ Instagram Posts. Media Psychology, 21(2), 222–245. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2016.1267647

How Electronics Affect Sleep. (2017, July 27). Sleep Foundation. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/how-electronics-affect-sleep

Increased well-being: Another reason to try yoga. (2020, September 17). Harvard Health. https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/increased-well-being-another-reason-to-try-yoga

Jenkins-Guarnieri, M. A., Wright, S. L., & Johnson, B. (2013). Development and validation of a social media use integration scale. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 2(1), 38–50. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030277

Kazemi, A., Shojaei-Zarghani, S., Eskandarzadeh, P., & Hashempur, M. H. (2024). Effects of chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.) on sleep: A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 84, 103071. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2024.103071

Robards, K. (2025, September 22). Screen time and sleep: What new studies reveal. Sleep Education. https://sleepeducation.org/screen-time-and-sleep-what-new-studies-reveal/

Serrano, J. F. (2024, March 18). How to Stop Procrastinating at Bedtime and Actually Go to Sleep. TIME. https://time.com/6957353/bedtime-procrastination-how-to-go-to-sleep/