I'm too addicted to my phone (sleep problems)

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Joe90
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30 Aug 2022, 11:50 pm

The doctor told me that not looking at my phone before bed will help with my insomnia but it's easier said, because I'm addicted.

I dim my screen as much as I can at night time and I have the night light activated, meaning my screen will become tinted amber after a certain time, to lessen the glare of blue light.

I'm not the sort to read a book, and I need bright light to read as I get eye strain otherwise. I do write to wind down in the evenings but it doesn't make much of a difference to my sleep.

I avoid caffeine in the evenings too. I sometimes use audiobooks but that depends on if my boyfriend is in bed or not. I can't sleep with earphones as they make my ears sore, and not with headphones either because they're too bulky and I worry about being strangled by the wire in my sleep or something.

So scrolling through Facebook and WP and playing games on my phone in bed relaxes me and the cliches like "put your phone elsewhere in the room" and "set yourself limits" don't work on me. It's my way of winding down in bed, as I can't just go straight to sleep the minute I get into bed. But the insomnia is driving me crazy. But I suppose sleep is impossible when you're a phone addict. :cry:
It's no good switching off my phone because I need it on in case of calls in the morning or something. Anyway I could just easily turn it back on.

Anyone else have this problem?


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Edna3362
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01 Sep 2022, 2:03 am

I do.

I tried to stick to drawing instead.
But I don't have enough reference materials that fascinates me enough to draw without a phone...
Or that specific exercises I really want to complete isn't on paper and it's in my phone instead.
I've yet to afford something like that yet.

I also got addicted to reading and scrolling. And we got no books at home.


My screen is constantly dim, dimmer at night time. I eliminated caffeine entirely.
I have some light sensitivity to a point I wear tinted glasses, which may affect with how my eyes receives light throughout the day.

I've yet to try and get rid of sugar altogether and that's harder for me than stopping caffeine.

And I got other causes of insomnia or at least it keeps me up at night; stress, heartburn, chronic rhinitis/likely sleep apnea, eating too much/bloating, low blood pressure and discomfort over gravity and temperature, hormones during ovulation...


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klanka
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01 Sep 2022, 6:34 am

I have irregular sleep. Its usually cos I nap in the day or drank too much caffeine.
I use my phone indiscriminately at night as well.



Trachea
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01 Sep 2022, 7:22 am

It's one of the most common comorbidities among autistic people so I think there might be other things affecting it besides the phone.

For me I have given up a normal sleep schedule- I try to sleep when I can because it's in the end much less stressful to me to get five hours during the day, stay up for a some hours, sleep a couple more hours and wake up late at night and get your full night sleep in increments then it is to stay up all the time. I have a real bad tendency for depression and meltdowns if I stay up for a full day.

Things that work for me sometimes:

-reading comic books or flipping through design&art books

-coloring books and crosswords puzzles

-having nice textures to pet and my plushie to squeeze

-having sleepytime tea

-doing some calming yoga stretches in bed

-besides blinds, drawing the curtains too for extreme darkness

-sometimes opening the window if its too hot, sometimes putting on wooly socks if my toes get cold

-white noise or fan sound from youtube, also this youtube-channel called "calmed by nature" they have no ads and specifically, I like these jazzy rain cafe-videos
but also the cozy cabins with fireplaces and the rain on tent is nice and calming (I also use them for unspinning meltdowns, as do a few of my autistic friends, big recommendation)

-slov tv, for example lovely calming train videos like this

-listening to sleep podcasts like "sleep with me" or "boring books for bedtime readings" (but it doesn't have to necessarily be ones designed to fall asleep to, just chill talking can put me to sleep so NPR is good, BBCs slow radio is really good, I also like the podcast "sweet boys" although its pretty hyper sometimes it's very comfy to me) Jeff Bridges (The Dude of Big Lebowski-film) did this album called sleeping tapes http://www.dreamingwithjeff.com/ which is for free (also on youtube) which I really liked to listen to for many years

If I have been in bed for an hour and can't get to sleep I get up to dust my books, wipe down some counters, do a little organizing or have a drink or a snack or do some stretches or go for a tiny walk around the block and then I try again in a little bit. The more I stress about sleep the less likely it is I get to do it.

I think it's a good idea to make a list of things that calm you down that are not on screen so you can try them for a bit when you have trouble falling asleep and maybe you can find a new bedtime routine with less screen.



Joe90
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05 Sep 2022, 8:30 am

I think it's too easy to be addicted to your phone, even for NTs. Sometimes when I'm laying there and can't sleep but don't want to get up, I reach over for my phone, because I'm thinking "I wonder if anyone has liked the photo I posted on Facebook" or "I wonder if anyone has posted in my thread on WP yet" or "I wonder if tomorrow's weather forecast has changed since I last checked". And to tire my brain out I start playing games on my phone, which are all word games, because I think it relaxes me. Well it does relax me, although people say "oh it can't relax you really because you still can't sleep". But it does relax me mentally.


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