Our world is changing rapidly. Often times, for the better. Advancing technology provides new opportunity for us to stay informed, connected, entertained, and engaged. Technology is becoming smaller, lighter, and more portable. And these are good things. I fully embrace the opportunity that they provide.
But an unintentional side effect of the ever-increasing portability of our devices is technology addiction. It continues to make inroads into areas of our lives where it offers more distraction and harm than benefit. Dinner tables, conversations, and relationships just to name a few. Because of this, it is wise for us to take opportunity to pull back and evaluate if there are areas of our life where technology is doing more harm than good.
With that as the backdrop, is it possible there are areas of our homes that would benefit from the absence of technology (TV, Laptops, iPads, Video games) too? Mindfulness and scientific research seem to support this assumption.
Benefits of a Technology-Free Bedroom
1. More/Better Sleep.
The studies on this issue continue to surface on a consistent basis. The more TV people watch before bedtime, the less sleep they get. In this case, studies confirm what we already know to be true: the lure of the screen is just too strong for many to turn off. Additionally, artificial light exposure between dusk and the time we go to bed makes it more difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep.
2. More Conversation.
For married couples, some of your most important, intimate conversations will take place in your bedroom during the waning hours of the day… unless of course, the laptop is sitting on your lap instead.
3. More Conscious Reflection.
The evening provides valuable opportunity to meditate, evaluate, and assess your day. This examination leads to better learning from our mistakes and growing as humans. It is a far worthier cause than pursuing entertainment—and the exchange of it is a foolish transaction.
4. More/Better sex.
Couples who keep a TV in the bedroom have sex half as often as those who don’t. And spouses who choose to interact with one another on an emotional level have better, more fulfilling sex. In other words, there are more stimulating behaviors available in the bedroom than playing Angry Birds.
5. More Reading.
Light reading in the evening helps many fall asleep faster. But even if it doesn’t help you sleep, the benefits of reading still far outweigh the benefits of mindless technological consumption. Removing the television, laptop, Ipad, or phone from your bedroom will almost always naturally encourage more reading in your life.
6. More Mindfulness in the Morning.
Others have covered this topic well: there are good reasons not to check your email first thing in the morning. Additionally, checking Facebook/Twitter before putting your feet on the floor could be argued against with the same rationale.
7. More Relationship within Family.
At any age, removing technology from bedrooms fosters interaction. I’m not against the use of technology in our homes, I do it everyday. But rather than retiring to our separate bedrooms for homework, Internet-surfing, television, or video games, keeping technology in the living areas of our homes encourages greater interaction. It also aids in monitoring the online activities of our children.
8. Less Sleep-Texting.
The fact that our world is experiencing a rise in people sending revealing and embarrassing texts in their sleep ought to give us pause to seriously reconsider the habits we have embraced.
9. Less Accessibility.
Few of us need to live our lives accessible to others at all times of the day. Text alerts, Facebook notifications, Twitter mentions, and emails are often nothing more than distractions that keep us from the world right in front of us. They clutter our mind with nonessential information. Keeping your bedroom as a notification-free zone results in a more peaceful, engaged, calming environment. And it allows space for our minds to separate from the day’s activities.
10. Less of the Emotions Attached to Social Media.
The studies are not healthy. People who spend time on social media tend to experience higher levels of envy, loneliness, frustration, and anger. Social media interaction holds some benefit. But if we can intentionally remove these unhealthy emotions from our bedroom, I’ll argue for that any day.
11. Rooms serve purposes.
Rooms serve purposes: kitchens are for cooking, dining rooms are for eating, and offices are for working. The better we define those rooms and their purposes, the more productive they become. Use your bedroom for better relaxation, sleep, and sex by taking the laptops, video games, and televisions out of them.
The idea of a technology-free bedroom is a counter-cultural thought. And for many, the typical response to the idea of embracing it will be met with all the reasons it is simply not possible:
- “My phone is my alarm clock.”
- “I need to check the weather in the morning.”
- “I read on my Ipad in bed.”
- “I have to watch my TV or I can’t fall asleep.”
But the benefits of a technology-free bedroom should not be overlooked and dismissed so quickly. Besides, most of our excuses can be overcome with some creative thinking and extra intentionality—which help stand as another important reminder: Technology ought to serve us, not the other way around.
Tony @ WeOnlyDoThisOnce says
We have a technology free bedroom, EXCEPT that I bring my cell phone to bed quite a bit. I should cut that down for sure. I wonder if a Kindle counts as technology?
Alexis says
I live in a studio to live with a lesser footprint and save money. My TV is near the bed but is never on at bedtime. I have my wireless set up in the same room and computers but I have a rule I never take technology to bed. I am a reader and sleep is to important. Your eyes, brain and nervous system needs to be off technology and tv screens at least 2 hours before bed to rest correctly. Most people do not realize the damage that staring at screens is doing to their eyes. I am LOL at the sex comment as many of us are single.
Chris Peek says
Last night, my wife and I went out to our Valentine’s dinner and ended up having an interesting conversation with the waitress. She said she could usually tell the married couples apart from others because they were the ones who were disengaged, looked bored, and had their heads buried, playing with their cell phones. It was such a sad testament to our culture, but I’m thankful my wife and I go to dinner to simply spend time with each other and not our technology.
Jacquie Mitchell says
My husband and I notice this all the time it’s so sad to see couples engaged in their iPhones instead of each other
Kate says
I have never had a tv in my room. I do use my phone as an alarm clock but it is not a smart phone, does that count? Also, I read in bed on my kindle fire (books) but I am thinking this fits into the reading category? I don’t have much obsession with technology anyway, but I do think it is a good idea to keep it out of the bedroom.
Kate
Liesel says
We never had a TV in our bedroom and thankfully our internet connection is so bad that it does not work in there. I do use my phone as an alarm clock – but only keep it switched off in the bedroom. Totally agree with you that there are far better things we can do in this room! :-)
Mandi @ Life Your Way says
I agree with almost all of these, but I do bring my phone to bed (to use as an alarm) and I check my email/social media in the morning as I’m waking up. On one hand I understand the arguments against doing that, but I also know that it’s working for me and that I’m able to do that when I wake up and then jump right into my “need-tos” for the day when my feet hit the floor.
I guess what I really need is an experiment to NOT do it and see how that affects my day. But first I need an alarm clock!
paul says
My wife and I have never had a TV or bring tech in our bedroom. We recently even got rid of the clock (thankfully neither of us need to be up at a specific time for work either). It’s awesome.
Daniel Aipa says
Great write up. This is one of the big changes I’ve made. I used to take my laptop to bed with me, check my email, look at social media, watch videos on my phone. No. No. No. Not anymore. I head to bed giving myself at least 30 minutes of free reading, or writing in my journal if I haven’t already. It has allowed me to sleep better at night and wake up feeling refreshed and energized!
Brown Vagabonder says
I was just talking to my partner, Thenix, about this a few days ago! We live in a tiny condo, 450 square foot, which is perfect for our needs. But it means, it is basically one big room, with a short divider for the bedroom. He works from home, so we have an home office in the living room.
I like the fact that the bedroom even though small has nothing related to work in it. We don’t have a TV, any computers or books in the bedroom. Just our clothes and the bed. This makes the separation of work time from rest time really easy.
David says
We never put a TV in our bedroom, but we never needed to with our iDevices. They’re too accessible where they are now, and we find that if we wake up at 2 AM, that is what we grab. i think our new goal might be a technology free bedroom!