Expert says on Oprah Winfrey's show ‘never sleep with your phone, keep it in bathroom’. Explains why it causes anxiety

Expert Mel Robbins explains on Oprah Winfrey's podcast why sleeping with your phone causes anxiety, advises to keep it in the bathroom instead.

Don't pick up your phone the first thing in the morning after you wake up! Your parents have told you this, and you may have also heard many wellness experts stress how important it is to have this particular habit. But have you ever wondered why?

An expert explains why looking at your phone first thing in the morning causes anxiety. (Pixabay)

During her appearance on Oprah Winfrey's show, The Oprah Podcast, Mel Robbins, an author and expert on behavioural change, talked about the importance of not sleeping with your phone. She advised people to ‘never, ever sleep with their phone’, and instead put it in the bathroom. The reason? Let's find out.

Why should you never sleep with your phone?

Mel told Oprah, “I'm not even going to talk about all the studies about how the phone in the room next to you interrupts your sleep. I'm going to talk about something that happens when you wake up.”

She explained why a scenario where the phone is next to you when you are sleeping is harmful to the mind and mental peace. “So, the phone's next to you, right? You're lying in bed. The alarm goes off, and you pick up the phone. Here you are. You aren't even vertical yet, and you have just allowed the world news and a thousand strangers on Instagram to walk into your bedroom. You're checking emails and text messages, and you wonder why you're stressed out and exhausted. You're not even out of bed, and you have put all this other stuff in your brain, which means you are now the last thing on the list.”

What happens when you pick up the phone

According to the expert, if you wake up and start scrolling, it activates your stress response. Additionally, it takes longer for you to get out of bed, and it causes anxiety. How does that happen? It triggers the stored trauma in your brain.

Mel explained, “Anxiety is higher for people in the morning. If you grew up in a traumatic household or experienced abuse, poverty, bigotry, or racism when you were little, you had a chaotic experience. If you're waking up in the morning and the first thing you experience is anxiety, it is a sign of stored trauma. That's why a lot of people have anxiety first thing in the morning. It's stored trauma.”

Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.