screen off, brain on!

We’re an addicted generation, we know. Where would we be without Scottish Twitter, or Facebook’s Love Island memes? Doesn’t bear thinking about.
 
Even so, social media and the devices we access it through aren’t always good for us. For one, they may be harming the quality of our sleep. The cold, blue light that smartphones, tablets and laptops emit is conducive to keeping the brain engaged and awake, so scrolling for an hour before bed to wind down might not be such a good idea. 

Replacing this time instead with listening to music or podcasts, reading a book or winding down in the bath will help you on your way to dreamland, Sleeping Beauty. And you don’t need us to tell you how important sleep is.
 
Not only will you feel less like a Dawn of the Dead extra when your alarm goes off in the morning, but better quality sleep will actually help you at school, college or uni. There are tons of studies that found sleep to be a key factor in encoding memories.
 
A joint study between Oxford and Harvard found that “sleep is required for the processing of short-term memories … and strengthening the long-term memory”. So that’ll be pretty useful when exam period next rolls around.
 
Not to mention the other great benefits of sleep, such as decreasing stress levels and boosting immunity, all hindered by excessive late-night ventures down the social media rabbit hole. Do yourself a favour, and switch off an hour earlier each night.
 
We’re not telling you to purge entirely and lead the life of the Amish, but it’s important to establish a balance. Detaching yourself from technology for a certain amount of time a day is a great way to clear your head, reduce anxiety levels and improve focus not to mention give your poor peepers a break.