Where would you be in life without the presence of your cellphone?

Cellphones now define us through our particular phone model, choice of social media and the amount of time spent on the device every day through various, mindless activities.

Frequently, it is a crutch for humanity to cling onto in times of boredom, and many times, this results in extended hours of phone usage before going to bed due to our desire to stay connected.

Through the unhealthy usage of our cellphones, humanity’s sleep schedule is drastically affected day by day in a negative manner through the amount of sleep we receive, the quality of sleep we gain and the amount of time a phone interrupts our sleep cycle.

For almost my entire life, I have slept with my phone either under my pillow or within an arm’s reach. Unhealthily, this influences me to hit the snooze button more in the morning, interrupt my pattern of sleep, causing me to wake up frequently during the night and keep me up longer before falling to sleep due to its availability for me to use.

Truly, with raising these questions, I ask myself: Does a bad night of sleep holistically affect my body in a negative way? Also, what can I do to receive a more effective night of sleep?

Across a variety of statistics, startling results show that nearly 70-80 percent of 18 to 24-year-olds sleep with their phone next to them. With growing cases of insomnia and the inability to fall asleep at night in many teenagers and adults alike, I think it is clear to speculate that phones and electronics are a steady cause for the growing case in humanity to experience ineffective sleep when approaching this natural, biological rhythm.

Additionally, when one does not receive a good night of sleep, newfound studies show that a person’s long term mental and physical health is also drastically affected.

For example, after prolonged periods of inadequate sleep, reports display that the risk for long-term diseases including cancer, diabetes and other cardiovascular related diseases drastically increases. In addition, when receiving an unhealthy night of sleep, short-term effects include an unfavorable consequence on memory and physical appearance.

What would happen if people simply decided to set their phone across the room before going to sleep? Indeed, we would receive a more consistent night of sleep due to the abolished temptation for many of these potential, adverse situations to occur.

Set the phone aside, and make sleep a priority today. You never know what modern and future affects inconsistent, unhealthy sleep could have on your physical, mental and social wellbeing.