by Althea Need Kaminske

cover image by StockSnap from Pixabay

My cell phone broke over the weekend. By “broke” I mean my toddler threw it down the stairs with all the strength that his tiny arms could muster. I listened as it hit more stairs than one would think possible thanks to the still poor aim of a two year old who has just recently learned how to throw objects in front of him instead of accidentally dropping them behind him. Each thunk made me increasingly certain that the phone would not survive. When it thunked its final thunk at the bottom of the stairs I knew it was done for. “Good,” I thought, “I’ve been meaning to cut down on that.”

Smartphones have a lot of advantages and they can make our lives easier. Prior to the stair incident I had texted my sister, who lives on the opposite side of the country, a podcast that talked about a book we were both reading. Being able to communicate and share information across vast distances is undoubtedly handy! However, as with most things, it can lead to problems in excess. Excessive smartphone use is linked to depression, anxiety, and poor sleep quality (1). This is especially concerning among college students who might turn to social media as a coping mechanism for stress and anxiety, possibly perpetuating an unhealthy relationship with smartphone use. One study of smartphone use among American college students found that 25% of students surveyed reported sleep texting (2). Sleep texters were significantly more likely to have interrupted sleep, contributing to overall low sleep quality in college students. Poor sleep quality is a concern for students because it is crucial for memory and learning.

Given the harmful effects of excessive smartphone use, researchers have investigated the effects of reducing smartphone use. A recent study by Brailovskaia and colleagues (2022) examined the effects of smartphone use reduction and abstinence on well-being (3). A total of 619 participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: Abstinence, Reduction, or Control. The Abstinence group (N = 277) was instructed to not use their phone for 7 days. The Reduction group (N = 242) was instructed to reduce their overall phone use by an hour each day for 7 days. The Control group (N = 232) were not given limitations on their phone use. Several measures of smartphone use and well-being were assessed at baseline (prior to the week-long intervention), post-intervention, one month post-intervention, and four months post-intervention.

Both the Abstinence and Reduction group showed decreases in smartphone use intensity, problematic use tendency, depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms after their one-week with reduced or no smartphone use. These effects persisted even after 4 months. These groups also showed an increase in physical activity and life satisfaction at post-intervention, which also persisted after 4 months (3). Cutting back on smartphone use for one week had an overall positive effect on people’s lives that persisted for several months. The magnitude of the effect was similar for both smartphone reduction and for smartphone abstinence for most measures. However, notably, these benefits seemed to be more stable for those who were in the reduction group compared to the abstinence group. The authors suggest that reducing smartphone use, rather than abstaining from smartphones completely, is easier to maintain and fosters a healthier relationship with phone use that would allow people to “gain the advantages of smartphone use without experiencing its negative effect” (3).

If you are concerned about your smartphone use and want to cut back, I would suggest specifically reducing smartphone use before you go to bed. A study by He et al. (2020) found that avoiding phone use 30 minutes before bed resulted in overall improved sleep quality, mood, and working memory (4). This preliminary study randomly assigned 38 college students to either the intervention group or the control group. Participants in the intervention group (N = 19) had their phone use restricted prior to bed time for 4 weeks (Most of them used smartphones that had a “bedtime” function that made the screen go grey, would not allow apps to be opened, and phone service would go offline. Those that did not have this function were simply instructed to turn their phones off 30 minutes prior to bedtime). Participants in the control group were not given any restrictions on their sleep or phone use.

After a month of staying off their phone before bed, participants reported falling asleep faster, lower levels of pre-sleep arousal, sleeping for longer, and better quality of sleep compared to participants who did not restrict phone use before bed (4). The authors speculate that the improvement in sleep was due to both the reduced amount of light prior to sleep (the blue light emitted by screens delays the release of melatonin, a hormone that helps us to fall asleep) and to the lower levels of pre-sleep arousal. Pre-sleep arousal was measured by the Pre-sleep Arousal Scale (5) which asks various questions about the level of cognitive arousal (e.g. “Being mentally active, alert”) and somatic arousal (e.g. “Heart racing or pounding irregularly”). Finally, participants who avoided their phone before bed also showed improved mood and working memory capacity compared to those who did not. Given the relationship between sleep and cognitive abilities, it’s not surprising that people who are better rested performed better on measures of working memory.

While it’s clear that smartphones can have a negative impact on us, it’s also clear that they provide a lot of benefits that are difficult to ignore. I liked that both of these articles focused on small reductions in smartphone use that are relatively easy to implement and far more practical than trying to cut them out of our lives entirely. I am replacing my broken phone, but I’ll be setting some limitations on how I use the new phone and cut back on using it, especially before bed.

References

1. Demi̇rci̇, K., Akgönül, M., & Akpinar, A. (2015). Relationship of smartphone use severity with sleep quality, depression, and anxiety in university students. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 4(2), 85–92. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.4.2015.010

2. Dowdel, E. B., & Clayton, B. Q. (2019). Interrupted sleep: College students sleeping with technology. Journal of American College Health, 67(7), 640-646. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2018.1499655

3. Brailovskaia, J., Delveaux, J., John, J., Wicker, V., Noveski, A., Seokyoung, K., Schillack, H., & Margraf, J. (2022). Finding the “Sweet Spot” of smartphone use: Reduction or abstinence to increase well-being and healthy lifestyle?! An experimental intervention study. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied. Advance online publication. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xap0000430

4. He. J-w., Tu, Z-h., Xiao, L., Su, T., & Tang Y-x. (2020). Effect of restricting bedtime mobile phone use on sleep, arousal, mood, and working memory: A randomized pilot trial. PLoS ONE, 15 (2):e0228756. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0228756

5. Nicassio, P.M., Mendlowitz, D.R., Fussell, J.J., & Petras, L. (1985). The phenomenology of the presleep state: the development of the pre-sleep arousal scale. Behav Res Ther. 23(3): 263–267. https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7967(85)90004-x