Can Turning Off Gadgets Before Bed Really Improve Sleep? A Week-Long Test

In a world filled with screens, many sleep tips urge turning off devices early at night. To see if this advice is truly helpful, a medical editor conducted a week-long trial and tracked the impact on sleep. Here are the findings and practical takeaways for English learners seeking better rest.

Why stop using gadgets before bedtime?

Health organizations recommend reducing evening screen time because our bodies follow a natural clock tied to light. In the morning, exposure to light raises cortisol, a hormone that boosts alertness. In the evening, the body produces melatonin, the hormone that helps us feel sleepy. Blue light from phones, tablets, and computers can suppress melatonin, making it harder to fall asleep and to stay asleep.

Starting conditions and plan

The tester usually goes to bed late after long screen sessions, scrolling social media or watching shows, which often means it takes about an hour to fall asleep. Thoughts about the next workday can keep the mind active and prevent rest. Some medicines have side effects that include sleepiness, but they could not be stopped for the experiment. The plan was to stop using the phone by 10:00 p.m. and aim for bedtime around midnight, earlier than usual. A popular fitness tracker was used to measure sleep stages: deep sleep (slow-wave sleep), light sleep, REM sleep, and how often wake-ups occurred during the night.

What I did to unplug

The experiment lasted one week. In the first two days, I struggled to fill the evenings without my phone, trying activities like knitting, drawing, and even experimenting with hair styling. Going to bed earlier felt like a relief. For days 3 onward, I read instead, choosing an e-reader with no backlight or minimal glare. Researchers note that e-ink devices are gentler on the eyes than glowing screens.

During the last two evenings, I met friends in places with dim lighting and no televisions. I traveled home by taxi so I wouldn’t reach for my phone along the way, helping me avoid late-night screen use.

Did unplugging help me sleep better?

Overall, there were no dramatic changes in sleep length or deep sleep compared with the evenings when I used devices. I did not wake up less often during the night, and I didn’t feel a major boost in daytime freshness. However, I did notice a calmer mind before bed: thoughts about work and chores faded as I settled under the covers, helping me relax more quickly.

Keeping track of sleep every day was challenging, so I measured only at the start and end of the week. Still, the overall pattern showed that a relaxed wind-down routine can improve how you feel at night, even if total sleep time remains similar.

Expert perspective

Experts agree that reducing evening screen time can help some people fall asleep faster and improve sleep quality over time. Yet individual factors such as stress levels, daily habits, and medications play a major role in how much benefit you experience.

Bottom line

For many people, stepping away from computers, televisions, and phones two hours before bed can be a simple way to improve sleep. In this personal trial, the effect on sleep duration and deep sleep was limited, but the calmer pre-sleep mood was noticeable. The experience is valuable: it can extend the quiet, restorative time after work and help shift from a busy, work-focused mindset to a relaxed home routine.

Short summary

Over a week, turning off gadgets by 10:00 p.m. did not greatly change total sleep time or deep sleep. The tester did report feeling calmer before bed and fewer racing thoughts, which aided a smoother transition to rest. The results vary for each person, but a calmer evening routine can be beneficial for many English learners seeking better sleep quality.

Key takeaway: A calm, gadget-free wind-down can improve how you feel at night and help you move from work to rest, even if the clock-time of sleep does not change much.