On sleep,
Being a busy person, I often don’t get the recommended amount of sleep I should every night. Due to factors in my life like schoolwork, research progress, and the occasional game of Minecraft, I frequently miss out on my full 8 to 10 hours. This leads to being less productive, less energetic, and overall makes me feel more tired during the day. In the morning, due to this lack of rest, I find it very difficult to wake up. Making matters worse, I’m addicted to reading before I go to bed on my iPad - I have around 500 saved articles (constantly pushing the maximum) on my Instapaper account, and I keep going, from article to article, before I sleep. Minutes become hours, and again, I’ve stayed up too long.
This all changed recently.
I decided several nights ago to not use the iPad, to simply lay down and rest. Instead of being distracted by the constant flood of Instapaper news and other things from my connected reading device, I voluntarily disconnected, and decided I’d see what I lost when I started to use mobile devices.
The effect was immensely liberating. For one, it allowed me to sleep better, and naturally wake up in the morning without aid of an alarm. I also felt far more well rested, even though I was going to bed at the same time (note that before, “going to bed” was when I pushed the Instapaper icon and my head hit the pillow).
There was another change that I felt, however, something more than mere rest. I forgot the liberation of screenless thinking. As I laid there, I found that I thought. I remember this fondly from several years ago; I would sort out my thoughts and generally get my mind in order with regards to the day. If you’ve never had this experience, or simply haven’t had it for a while, it’s phenomenal. I found myself thinking about projects, schoolwork, and life in general, and it was amazing to think of these things without being interrupted by technology. When we walk around, we’re usually glued to our smartphones. When we lounge, we’re far too into our mobile device. When we go to class, we’re distracted by laptops and the constant flood of information. When we’re in conversations, the phone is the constant interruption.
As someone who’s so eager about the future of technology, I found myself changing my opinions drastically when I sat there disconnected. I recommend it.
(note: I’m not a doctor, so don’t take sleep advice from me, but I was really good at that Nintendo DS game “Trauma Center: Under the Knife” several years ago).