27 September 2016

On Bedtime Alarms

For the last several years, an alarm on my phone has gone off every weekday at 9:15 PM.

Sometimes I ignore it, sometimes I don't. I try not to, but the fact of the matter is, I need my rest. A LOT of rest. Like a solid 8-9 hours a night.

And when I'm working at my computer--trying to get everything read before class or staying up late to get that paper/abstract/blogpost written--it can be very difficult to pull myself out of my screen at a decent hour to get ready for bed.

There are all sorts of studies about what screens (computer, TV, tablet, cell phone) do to our brains, but most sleep experts recommend turning them off at least two hours before bed. So I have my bedtime alarm to try to remind me to start winding down without screens.

But then I moved to Spain, and 9:15 might as well be 6:30 in the evening, because that's when people are eating dinner or out with friends for tapas, so I changed my bedtime alarm. And then I stopped paying attention to it because I can start my days late if I have to.

And then, the new iOS update came out, and it includes a BEDTIME SETTING in the clock function.



I'm so excited to try it that I've decided I'm going to force myself to try to stick to a more US-oriented bedtime schedule during the week. This will also help me take advantage of the archives and writing time. PLUS, privileging sleep helps me organize my day.

And when I'm well-rested, my central nervous system (CNS) doesn't need any soothing whatsoever. Win-win!

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