5 Reasons To Keep Your Mobile Phone Out Of Your Bedroom.

by
Aisling Grimley.

Mags Clark Smith discusses the need for restful, restorative sleep and explains why we shouldn't have a phone in the bedroom. She recently managed to convince a senior mobile phone company exec to abandon his.

Sleep is an investment to enable us to live well and enjoy ourselves

Five Reasons to keep your mobile phone out of your bedroom

Can your mobile phone really disrupt your sleep? Well, yes frankly it can. “But I can't live without it!” I hear you cry and there's this thing called 'Nomophobia' isn't that a good enough reason to keep our phones close at all times?

Nomophobia is the fear of being out of contact by phone. No wait, stop: this is a classified phobia really? Yes, it appears that it is.

Well actually that's quite helpful because we can treat it like other phobias. Arachnophobia is the fear of spiders and there is plenty of support available to help reduce fear and anxiety about spiders.

So maybe we can devise a plan to gradually wean ourselves off bringing the phone into our bedroom? First of all let's remind ourselves why we don't want to have a phone in the bedroom in the first place:

The bedroom is designed to be restful, without any sources of stress or stimulation as they can be disruptive
In general it is easiest to sleep in a quiet place, with no unexpected noise
A cosy, warm, carefully lit bedroom is conducive to a good night's sleep
The bedroom is an intimate space for sleeping and sex
Relaxation before you sleep is vital

Convincing a Senior Executive of a mobile phone company to give up his phone

Here's a story about how the Director of an Irish Mobile Phone company changed his habits recently; if he can do this I'm sure we can. My advice to him was to begin with trying a night with the phone present but on 'silent', then an evening or so later putting it outside the bedroom door, he then choose to leave his phone downstairs and has continued to do that ever since. Not only is he sleeping better but in general his long term low back pain has resolved itself, it occasionally returns when triggered by stress. There is lots of evidence that we need to rebalance our autonomic nervous system and relax more. This leads to better overall health as it allows the body's natural healing mechanisms to work properly.

Sleep is an investment to enable us to live well and enjoy ourselves, it also makes us feel and look better! To relax we need to empower ourselves and take control of our bedroom environment. Actual or anticipated messages and calls can trigger a low grade stress response that may disrupt our sleep.

So, in our Second Spring let's call time on 24/7 availability, with the exception of children and partners. Or maybe without exception, perhaps our children could learn't to knock on the bedroom door before bursting in? Speaking personally, that would be terrific!

Mags Clark-Smith is a movement specialist trained to treat Neurophysiologic Disorders. Mags lectured in Dance and Psychology and is passionate about empowering women to move with confidence and fulfill their potential.

She runs a busy Pilates Studio and Resolving Chronic Pain programme.

You are very welcome to contact her:

Email: magsmcs@gmail.com

Ph: 086 104 0955

Links

Visit Mags' lovely website and blog here

Mags’s approach to pilates is great mix between science and intuition, based on years of experience. She has an instinctive ability to be able to see what is holding a ‘body’ back and can gentle coax an improvement in posture, balance and in the end your overall outlook both mentally and physically. I find my mind clearer after a class and my energy ‘reboosted’.

Claire

25 Jan 16

Mags’s blog is amazing. It’s just like listening to her in class. It all makes sense and what she writes is extremely empowering particularly stressful situations. You begin to reclaim your right not to be constantly be available which makes you better appreciated by others when you connect with them. We really do need to value ourselves more. Our time is precious, we should use it wisely, like fine wine! Thanks Mags.

Fionnuala

22 Jan 16

I do Pilates classes with Mags and I’ve learn’t so much about my body. The focus in the classes is on learning to become aware of our body, both building up our body’s strength and self confidence. She teaches about the connections between stress and the body. I might do 10-15 minutes Pilates at night before I go to bed, which really helps me to wind down after the day. I find that I always sleep so well after doing the Pilates.