Screens off an hour before bed
Phone, laptop and TV closed for the last hour, replaced by a book or nothing at all
No phone, laptop or television for the last hour of the day. Light is part of the argument, but the bigger issue is arousal: feeds, messages and autoplay keep the mind working right up to lights out. What replaces the screen varies. A paper book is the usual answer, then stretching, a shower or a conversation. People who hold this habit for long almost always pair it with a fixed bedtime, because the hour needs a start point.
People on record
Sorted by strength of stance
Does it: documented as part of their own routine. Recommends: explicitly advises other people to do it. Discusses: covered it substantively without clear personal adoption; this can include criticism or disagreement.
- Chris HemsworthDoes it
Actor · Limitless and Centr
Tries to stay off screens for the hour before bed, he says, and finds it definitely helps.
Source: E! News: Chris Hemsworth Shares Lifestyle Changes After Learning of Increased Risk of Alzheimer's Disease“I have a more consistent approach to my sleep, … Try to stay off screens an hour before bed and read most nights definitely helps.”
E! News: Chris Hemsworth Shares Lifestyle Changes After Learning of Increased Risk of Alzheimer's Disease (opens in a new tab) · 6 Oct 2023 - Jennifer AnistonRecommends
Actor · Friends and The Morning Show
Healthline reports that she learned to stop using screens before bed while dealing with insomnia. Her own advice is to try to turn the world off, since reading something agitating gets the body going, and to do comforting self-care instead.
Source: Healthline: Jennifer Aniston on Living with Insomnia and the Sleep Hacks That Help“[Just] try to turn the world off because you can read something that gets your body going and agitated and nervous, so try to do things that are self-care and comforting and soothing as best you can”
Healthline: Jennifer Aniston on Living with Insomnia and the Sleep Hacks That Help (opens in a new tab) · 18 Apr 2022
Aimed at the same thing
Other entries filed under sleep.
- HabitFREE, no cost
Cutting out alcohol
Drinking nothing, or close to it: the most common upgrade in these stacks
On record from 13 of 62 tracked people: 5 do it, 2 recommend it, 6 have discussed it - HabitFREE, no cost
Dim the lights at night
Low, warm, low-placed light for the last few hours of the day
On record from 6 of 62 tracked people: 2 do it, 4 recommend it - HabitFREE, no cost
Phone out of the bedroom
Charge it in another room and buy an actual alarm clock
On record from 6 of 62 tracked people: 4 do it, 2 recommend it - HabitFREE, no cost
Afternoon caffeine cutoff
A cutoff in early afternoon; caffeine's half-life runs longer than most expect
On record from 4 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it, 2 recommend it, 1 has discussed it - HabitFREE, no cost
Warm bath or shower before bed
Warm water an hour or two before sleep drops core temperature after
On record from 3 of 62 tracked people: 2 do it, 1 recommends it - HabitFREE, no cost
Hot water with lemon
A mug of hot water with a slice of lemon, to start the day or wind it down
On record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 2 do it
Habit entry · notes paraphrased from cited sources, quoted excerpts copied from the transcript they link to. Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed. How this works.