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“Let’s get a bed for our phones,” my boyfriend said one morning.
Cristina Cianci
My response: “Um, what?”
He seemed to think a “phone bed” would do the trick.
“It’s literally a tiny bed where you tuck your phone in at night,” he explained.
My phone is legit next to me at all times—even when I sleep. Photo courtesy of the author
I took to the interwebs to research this “phone bed” idea.
I could relate all too well.
Having my phonerightnext to my head at bedtime is a dangerous temptation.
Cristina Cianci
Then, I turn off the lights and make a run at fall asleeptypically with frustrating results.
It’s a reflex: No sleep, mo' phone.
That unconscious habit isn’tgood for sleep.
Amazon
Within five minutes, I had created my own bootleg phone bedand I was pretty damn proud.
Let’s bask in its glory, shall we?
Then, the question ofwhento tuck my phone in each night, andwhereto place my phone bed.
Good morning, phone! Photo courtesy of the author
No new binge-worthy show everyone’s talking about!
But I use my phone as my alarmI couldn’t possibly partake in an experiment like this!"
Well, my friends, I discovered a simple solution to that: an alarm clock.
An hour later, I tuckedmyselfin, and it felt…weird.
I caught myself impulsively trying to reach for my phoneonly to find an empty space on my nightstand.
I could feel that reflex to scroll and tap through Instagram and Twitter.
Ireadfor a bit, then fell asleep.
By night five, I started looking forward to putting my phone to bed.
It felt nice to recharge while my phone charged elsewhere, and it let me power down each evening.
(And that damn blue light wasn’t helping things, either!)
I woke up one morning to a few semi-urgent texts from a friend, sent at 9:15 p.m. Another night, after I put my phone to bed, I heard it vibrating in the kitchen cupboard.
And I just started calling my mom before I put my phone to bed to ensure we could chat.
(Hi mom!)
Truth be told, I didn’t tuck my phone into bed by 9 p.m. every night.
Sorry, I’m human!
And I realized having my phone on me at all times of the night is unnecessary.
There’s nothing I’ll see on Instagram at 10:30 p.m. that I can’t see the next day.
I’m still using my phone bed todaythough some nights I don’t tuck it in until 10:30 p.m.
But, overall, it’s a habit I’m glad I started.
I feel less connected to my phone, which is a great feeling to have in this overly-connected world.
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