The iPhone. For better or for worse, this little piece of technology has changed the world. People can access email, major news stories, social media feeds, weather reports, bank accounts, and a million other things without leaving the comfort of their beds. Like I said, for better or for worse.
I am (currently working on changing this to the past tense) one of those annoying people who seem to have their phone within arm’s reach at any given time. I hate that I am so dependent on my phone. HATE it.
I knew something needed to change when I literally started seeing double at work one day. At first, I thought I switched my contacts by accident, but when my vision didn’t improve over the next couple of days, I started to worry. Before going into full blown panic mode, I thought about all the reasons why this was happening…and so out of the blue at that.
A reoccurring thought about my iPhone use, particularly late at night, kept creeping into my mind. You see, I had this bad habit of using my phone right before bed. Every night with my phone literally inches away from my face, I would read news articles, peruse Facebook, IG, and Twitter, and/or play games. I didn’t bother to put my glasses on because it was only for a few minutes (yeah right). My poor eyes. The same thing would happen if I woke up in the middle of the night. I would look at my phone to see what time it was, and before I knew it, I was checking email…sans glasses.
Something like this…
Not only was this habit bad for my eyes, but it was affecting the quality of my sleep. Instead of getting into bed and promptly falling asleep, I would play on my phone for upwards of 30 minutes. Instead of waking up, rolling over, seeing what time it was, and going back to sleep, I would check my email. So dumb.
A few weeks before going to India, I made the decision to no longer bring my phone into the bedroom after 9:00 PM. I needed to take back my eye sight and sleep!
Well, my little experiment paid off. Double vision is a thing of the past. And I can now say that I get a full 7-8 hours of sleep a night.
And for those of you who want to nix your nighttime iPhone habit but are still holding on because of the alarm feature, have no fear! I promise that an old fashioned alarm clock still does the trick…without any unwanted side effects!
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Gosh I can relate to this post SO much..unfortunately! I am a self-proclaimed iPhone addict and it’s becoming out of control. Between keeping up with emails, social media, playing words with friends, taking photos…ah the list is endless but it’s really not doing much for my sanity. You’ve given me more motivation to invest in an alarm clock and put my iPhone away when I’m asleep- lord knows every bathroom trip in the middle of the night is followed up with a quick email check!
we should all make a pact to not use our phones after 9 pm and invest in old school alarm. I am on the same boat as you guys.
I need to do this. I am the same way! It’s a very scary concept! have you seen this video going viral this week? http://gawker.com/short-film-about-smartphone-overuse-is-smart-poignant-1189811144 Hopefully something changes so that we can all somehow balance the amazingness that is the iPhone and good old fashion human interactions!
Yikes, I do the exact same thing! Then I complain and wonder why it takes me so long to go to sleep. Checking my phone every ten minutes is becoming a huge problem because I start feeling anxious when it’s not close to me. I need to bite this bad habit in the butt soon!
I’m horribly addicted to my iPhone and I’m pretty much glued to it throughout the day, but I’ve been really good at making the bedroom a no technology zone before I go to sleep. I’ve definitely noticed it affecting the quality of my sleep, and as someone who struggles with getting in 6 hours as it is, I’m not willing to risk getting even less. The biggest problem I have right now is grabbing for my phone first thing in the morning… I really need to cut that out.
I do this crap too… first thing in the morning, sit in the bed and play on the iphone for about 20 minutes and then I wonder why I’m rushing. I do the same thing at night, sometimes I can’t sleep and I start playing.
It’s not good that I don’t wear glasses so I hold the phone super close. Hmmm.. you’ve inspired me to change.
Vision is everything!
I am not a huge iPhone person but I do wear glasses / contacts so this is good to know! Glad that your eye issue was nothing more seriously – scary!