Sleep-Deprived but Still Scrolling: The Night-Time Overthinkers Club

I often find myself in bed, exhausted, yet unable to put my phone down. It’s a familiar scenario amongst young people due to the growing mobile phone co-dependency we, as a society, uphold. There is an evident fear of missing out (FOMO) when you are not on your phone – the worry that if you’re not online, you’ll somehow fall out of the loop. Whilst this FOMO plays a role in this epidemic of pre-slumber ‘doomscrolling,’ much of this stems from using our phones as an escape from our own thoughts. The quiet of the night forces us to confront our internal monologues, and consuming mindless media is a form of escapism from this. Through the habit of reaching for your phone in states of boredom, the absence of your phone can quickly become anxiety-inducing, as it is so often used as a safety blanket. Combined with the pressure to stay constantly connected, this attachment begins to resemble an addiction.

Like many young people, I am guilty of ignoring the signs of this addiction. At its worst, my weekly screen time review would show the use of certain social media apps being upwards of 17 hours – roughly 10% of my week lost to mindless scrolling. Most of these hours spent on social media were at night, which in turn meant I was getting very few hours of sleep. The ultimate exhaustion drained my motivation for other hobbies and exacerbated my social battery, meaning I spent less time hanging out with friends and doing the things that I enjoy. These impacts were detrimental to my well-being and made me realise how the incessant scrolling wasn’t about enjoying the content at all, it acted as a means of putting off everything that mattered in an attempt to postpone the inevitable stress. From academic stress to individual insecurities, the period between switching everything off and falling asleep is a nightmare for overly self-critical people. When all of your embarrassing moments and uncomfortable memories start to viciously replay in your head, it is so easy to grab your phone to drown them out. 

Finding a healthier relationship with your phone, social media in particular, is essential to prevent this mindless ‘doomscrolling.’ Establishing a night routine can ease your worries and make falling asleep a whole lot easier. Before thinking about how this can be done, and while I have definitely improved my quality of sleep since implementing a good routine, I still sometimes find myself doomscrolling at 3 AM when I am particularly anxious about an upcoming deadline or general quarrels with family and friends. I am fully aware it is bad for me, but it is not always preventable; breaking a consistent habit does not happen overnight!  

It is also important to reduce the time spent in bed throughout the day. This helps create a clear boundary between being awake and time to rest, establishing an environment where falling asleep becomes a much more painless task. This can be done by spending more of your evening in your living room, either with your housemates or by yourself, doing a non-technology-dependent activity you enjoy! Social media can be an incredible means of communication and entertainment, so learn how to use it as such to prevent it from governing your life. By creating routines that calm your mind rather than overstimulate it, you give yourself the chance to rest without relying on endless scrolling to drown out your stresses, and in doing so, you break the cycle of sleepless nights that doomscrolling silently fuels.

Words by Ruby Cooney