Checking our phone at night ‘makes us too tired to get off at the right stop’

Library picture
Library picture

MANY commuters miss their stop on the journey to work due to tiredness caused by checking their phone at night, a Yorkshire academic claims.

A study commissioned by Vodafone found that one in three commuters admitted to sleeping through their stop because of tiredness, with 28% admitting they wake up to check their emails and text messages throughout the night.

“Sleep expert” Professor John Groeger from the University of Hull said the use of mobile devices late at night can have a direct impact on sleep.

He added: “Most of us are overdrawn at the Bank of Sleep, and we simply can’t afford to spend precious sleep time on devices.

“Device use just before bed, or when we wake in the night, can make restless sleep caused by stress at work even worse. Light from screens can delay sleep, meaning we might make worse decisions through the day because we’re tired.

“Changing our pre-sleep routines and what we do when we wake in the night can hugely improve our sleep quality.”

The research claims that more than half of those surveyed (55%) said they felt they stay up too late working on smartphones, laptops and tablets - with a further 23% saying their sleep was also disrupted by having their smartphone next to them.

A quarter also said they found it difficult to go back to sleep having checked their phone during the night. One in five parents suggested late internet use by their children was making it harder for them to get out of bed.