Counting sheep? If you’ve been struggling to get a consistent number of hours of sleep each night, the culprit could be the device in your hands — and, more specifically, the apps on that phone that you keep turning to when you’re having trouble falling asleep. You may already know that blue light is disruptive to the body and can mess with your sleep cycles, but this is the one app you should never use after 8 p.m. because it disrupts your sleep.
Social Media Apps
Ask a number of different tech experts which apps they’d stay far away from once the sun goes down and you will get a number of different answers — with one thing in common: most are social media apps.
“The worst app to use after 8 PM is Instagram,” says Tech Expert Luke Arthur, the CEO of SimpleGrow. “It has adverse effects on your subconscious mind, which takes over when you’re sleeping. Even if you had a good time scrolling through reels, know that it reduces the REM of your sleep cycle. A good REM is when it takes up about 20-25% of your sleep, which Instagram reduces to 15-16%. Hence, try not to use Instagram at night for 10 minutes and then end up being hooked to it.”
Another social media app that can keep you up all night? TikTok.
“Researchers consider TikTok to be especially harmful because it stimulates the release of adrenaline and dopamine, providing a jolt of energy and a surge of happiness, which inspires more commuting,” says Tech Expert Jeroen van Gils, CEO at Fun Zone. “And, more generally, the blue light emitted by your phone blocks the release of melatonin, which interferes with your circadian rhythm."
In addition to cell phones, van Giles reminds us that illuminated screens have a similar effect. "The type of light radiation they emit produces two phenomena of transcendence for sleep rhythms," van Giles says. "On one hand, they affect your natural sleep period. On the other hand, they add a distorting factor, since the light from the monitor at that moment delays our biological clock.”
