Can conquering a phone addiction really make a difference to your sleep?
Yes, says 46-year-old Richie, who a few weeks ago struggled to clock up more than five hours sleep and often woke every hour or two.
Richie's now sleeping more, and in longer chunks, and is loving the new-found energy this rest brings.
"Without a good sleep, you're no-one. You're just a cranky zombie," he says.
Richie was one of the people who got in touch when we asked you to share your sleep stories for our recent Reboot Your Sleep project.
Sleep expert Dr Siobhan Banks gave Richie a number of suggestions for how he could improve his sleep and he believes avoiding his phone around bed time has probably made the biggest difference.
We've also followed up with two other volunteers, Edie and Madeline, to see how some simple sleep hacks helped improve their slumber.
For Richie, a job as a night-shift truck driver meant he faced the extra challenge of trying to sleep in the day.
Despite this, he was surprised at the impact a few key changes to his routine made.
Of his previous phone habits, Richie said: "I was always pretty naughty. I'd take the phone to bed and I'd scroll through social media for probably half an hour before trying to sleep".
He thought of this as simply a relaxing way to unwind, but learning about how blue light from screens can stop production of brain chemicals essential for sleep forced a rethink.
"I didn't know anything about the problem with blue light," he said.
"When I woke during the night, I'd think: 'I've got to have a look at the phone and see if there's any messages or whatever'. Then I'd see one and my whole head would start going again."
He decided to simply bite the bullet and stop looking at his phone before or during the period he needed to sleep.
"I noticed a difference pretty much straight away," he said.
"I was actually tired enough just to fall asleep. I was able to sleep a longer period without being woken up. The quality of my sleep has changed. I've been more rested."
Previously he had to have several naps during breaks to get through his shifts of driving for up to 1,000 kilometres a night.
He is now able to do a full shift without napping and he's got enough energy to enjoy his time off.
"I was waking up so lethargic, I didn't feel like doing anything. Now I'm able to enjoy my weekends a lot more and I feel a lot healthier too. I love it," he said.
So what changes helped Richie's sleep?
The primary problem for the 66-year-old poet, editor and artist was waking during the night and being unable to get back to sleep because of worries and a buzzing mind.
While a different daily routine and time zone has made it a tricky period for her to change her sleep behaviour, she's been pleasantly surprised at one aspect she never anticipated: All the extra daily walking has enhanced her slumber.
On one day, the activity tracking wristband her travel partner wore showed they had clocked up 25,000 steps — perhaps one reason Edie has lost 2.5 kilos since leaving Australia.
"Exercise has definitely made physical tiredness a trigger for sleep," she told us via email from London, reporting that she'd been sleeping in "bigger chunks".
Professor Hillman's advice that sleep in older people can be a bit more elusive has been "reassuring" to Edie.
On her return to Adelaide, she's going to get earplugs to cut traffic noise at night and will continue working diligently on some deep-seated psychological issues that might be hindering her sleep.
Nonetheless, Madeline has managed to cut down on her caffeine intake and phone use before bed.
"It's annoying because these are two things everyone talks about all the time," she says.
"But being part of a project made me think: 'OK, I better actually do this'."
Dropping off to sleep at night "used to take a good hour lying there while my brain wasn't shutting up".
Now she drops off within 20 minutes most nights.
It's helped that her baby is spending more time sleeping in her own cot, rather than in bed with Madeline.
She knows that she can expect disrupted sleep from Philippa for many more months, but says: "I'm finding it easier to get to sleep, which has definitely been better".
And when she wakes for her baby, she's getting back to sleep faster too.
"My mind hasn't been racing as much."
Yes, says 46-year-old Richie, who a few weeks ago struggled to clock up more than five hours sleep and often woke every hour or two.
Richie's now sleeping more, and in longer chunks, and is loving the new-found energy this rest brings.
"Without a good sleep, you're no-one. You're just a cranky zombie," he says.
Richie was one of the people who got in touch when we asked you to share your sleep stories for our recent Reboot Your Sleep project.
Sleep expert Dr Siobhan Banks gave Richie a number of suggestions for how he could improve his sleep and he believes avoiding his phone around bed time has probably made the biggest difference.
We've also followed up with two other volunteers, Edie and Madeline, to see how some simple sleep hacks helped improve their slumber.
The night shift sleep challenge
Despite this, he was surprised at the impact a few key changes to his routine made.
Of his previous phone habits, Richie said: "I was always pretty naughty. I'd take the phone to bed and I'd scroll through social media for probably half an hour before trying to sleep".
He thought of this as simply a relaxing way to unwind, but learning about how blue light from screens can stop production of brain chemicals essential for sleep forced a rethink.
"I didn't know anything about the problem with blue light," he said.
"When I woke during the night, I'd think: 'I've got to have a look at the phone and see if there's any messages or whatever'. Then I'd see one and my whole head would start going again."
He decided to simply bite the bullet and stop looking at his phone before or during the period he needed to sleep.
"I noticed a difference pretty much straight away," he said.
"I was actually tired enough just to fall asleep. I was able to sleep a longer period without being woken up. The quality of my sleep has changed. I've been more rested."
Previously he had to have several naps during breaks to get through his shifts of driving for up to 1,000 kilometres a night.
He is now able to do a full shift without napping and he's got enough energy to enjoy his time off.
"I was waking up so lethargic, I didn't feel like doing anything. Now I'm able to enjoy my weekends a lot more and I feel a lot healthier too. I love it," he said.
So what changes helped Richie's sleep?
- Not looking at his phone in the lead-up to bed or when he wakes during sleep.
- Cutting his food intake close to bed time. He swapped the big protein-rich meal he used to have for just one slice of toast, which he was surprised to find was enough to satisfy his hunger, but had less of a chance of disrupting his sleep.
- Drinking less in the lead-up to bed. This has helped stop him waking to go to the toilet, but he's decided he needs to drink more a few hours earlier, as he's been waking quite thirsty.
- Being less uptight about his sleep. "Before I would have been thinking: 'I need to get back to sleep, what if I can't get back to sleep?' Now I just think: 'I'll see what happens'. The other day I did this and next thing I knew the alarm was going off and I was going: 'Wow, I've just had another two hours sleep'. I knew I was worrying about my sleep, but I didn't know the significance of it. I can't pinpoint exactly how, but I've just been able to switch off from it."
Walk until you drop
Insomniac Edie received her sleep tips from expert Professor David Hillman just before heading off on a trip to London.Ten hacks for a good night of sleep
While a different daily routine and time zone has made it a tricky period for her to change her sleep behaviour, she's been pleasantly surprised at one aspect she never anticipated: All the extra daily walking has enhanced her slumber.
On one day, the activity tracking wristband her travel partner wore showed they had clocked up 25,000 steps — perhaps one reason Edie has lost 2.5 kilos since leaving Australia.
"Exercise has definitely made physical tiredness a trigger for sleep," she told us via email from London, reporting that she'd been sleeping in "bigger chunks".
Professor Hillman's advice that sleep in older people can be a bit more elusive has been "reassuring" to Edie.
On her return to Adelaide, she's going to get earplugs to cut traffic noise at night and will continue working diligently on some deep-seated psychological issues that might be hindering her sleep.
Cutting caffeine helps calm the mind
Twenty-six-year-old Madeline, from Canberra, is still somewhat tired, but that's perhaps not surprising given she's the mother of 5-month-old baby Philippa, who herself is still learning to sleep.
Nonetheless, Madeline has managed to cut down on her caffeine intake and phone use before bed.
"It's annoying because these are two things everyone talks about all the time," she says.
"But being part of a project made me think: 'OK, I better actually do this'."
Dropping off to sleep at night "used to take a good hour lying there while my brain wasn't shutting up".
Now she drops off within 20 minutes most nights.
It's helped that her baby is spending more time sleeping in her own cot, rather than in bed with Madeline.
She knows that she can expect disrupted sleep from Philippa for many more months, but says: "I'm finding it easier to get to sleep, which has definitely been better".
And when she wakes for her baby, she's getting back to sleep faster too.
"My mind hasn't been racing as much."
