A pair of studies have recently found out that night-time use of your smartphone may be damaging your health.
The studies have shown that people who use their phones after 9pm are more tired and less engaged at work the next day, even compared to those who watched other light-emitting devices like televisions or tablets. The studies noted that people got less sleep when they engaged with their smartphone because they may associate their phones with work.
The studies are published in the May issue of Organizational Behaviour amd Human Decision Processes, and a variety of people from different professions were interviewed, including upper level managers and minimum-wage employees.
In most cases, those who used smartphones after 9pm reported feeling less motivated and focused the next day. Popular Science reports that this behaviour also follows the "ego-depletion" theory, where it is proposed that people have finite levels of self-control to draw from, and may instigate too much 'work acativity' outyside of the workplace.
The studies do not have a cure for this, but simply advise workers not to use their smartphones after 9pm at night and engage in a more relaxing activity, such as non-related reading, a warm bath, or even watching non-stimulating television before they fall asleeep.
