It’s time to put away the mobile and invest in an alarm clock

Many of us are guilty of sleeping with our mobile phones within arm’s length at night time- you know, just in case someone texts at three o’clock in the morning.

However, experts suggest it is not actually good for us to sleep with our phones so close, as it causes hypervigilance – being constantly tense and on guard because you are waiting for your phone to ring. This causes sleep to become interrupted as we can’t relax properly and may also lead to insomnia and other problems.

According to sleep expert Dr Neil Stanley: “In order to get a good night’s sleep, you have to feel safe and not worried about anything. By having your phone close by at night, you’re subconsciously saying you wish to attend to that phone. The brain will monitor the situation and your sleep will be lighter and more likely to be disturbed.”

Insomnia specialist at The Sleep School in London, Dr Guy Meadows, leaves his phone outside his room and believes “people will sleep better if the bedroom is kept free of mobile phones and other electronic devices”.

Maybe it’s time to invest in an alarm clock and leave the mobile outside the bedroom.