How to keep your phone out of the bedroom

Most of us sleep next to our phones. In a 2023 survey by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, 87% of U.S. adults said they regularly sleep with their phone in the bedroom, and for people aged 25 to 44 it was over 90% (AASM, 2023).

Ask people why, and you'll usually hear the same two answers: "It's my alarm," and "What if someone needs me in the night?" Both are fair. And both have simple fixes. Shall we go through them?

What a phone on the nightstand really does

The last scroll. "I'll just check one thing" turns into forty minutes. Sound familiar?

The first scroll. If your phone is the first thing you touch in the morning, the day starts with other people's news before you're even awake.

The 3 a.m. check. You wake up, look at the time, see one notification, and your mind is off and running for an hour.

It keeps your body on alert. A 2022 study that tracked sleep with Oura rings found that phone use in bed meant taking longer to fall asleep, a higher heart rate and lower HRV. We cover it in our guide to phone-free evenings.

"But it's my alarm"

Easy one. A basic alarm clock costs less than a phone case. A sunrise lamp is even gentler. Either way, the phone loses its only real job on the nightstand.

"But what if there's an emergency?"

Both iPhone and Android let you allow calls from the people you choose, and repeated calls from anyone, through Do Not Disturb or a Sleep focus. Charge the phone in the hallway or the next room with the ringer on for those calls. You'll still hear what matters. You just won't see everything else.

How to make the move stick

• Pick the phone's night spot. A hallway shelf, the kitchen counter, a drawer. Put a charger there so it's the easy choice.
• Choose a put-away time. Thirty to sixty minutes before bed, the same every night. After a week it becomes automatic, like brushing your teeth.
• Leave something in its place. A book, a notebook, a crossword. Your hand will reach for something, so give it something to find.
• Keep the morning too. It's twice as good if the phone stays put until after coffee. Here's how to have a phone-free morning.
• If you share a bedroom, decide together. One spot for both phones. A rule two people made is much easier to keep.
• Give the first week a chance. It feels a little strange at first. By week two, most people find it feels normal.

A drawer and a spare charger are enough to start tonight. If you'd like the phone's night spot to be something nicer, that's what we designed the Saalo Box for. Place your phone inside, close the lid, and a session starts on its own. We also compared a few other phone boxes for the home.

The bedroom is for sleep and the people you share it with. Your phone can wait in the hall.