Most of us know that screentime is often an enemy of sleep, but an innovative idea from the University of Kent in England has found a way to make better use of our cell phones in order to promote better shut eye. Surprisingly, GIFs could be the answer.
While the recommended amount of sleep for adults is at least 7 hours per night, the CDC reports that well over 30% of American’s fail to hit that mark, and it’s a pattern that appears to be getting worse over time. In addition to shift workers and those with young families, athletes are another group that often fail to score enough sleep due to poor sleep hygiene or late bedtimes. Because sleep is so important for all of us in terms of recovery and performance, finding ways to settle down is a significant desire, but distractions like cell phones often steal extra time from our downtime. In order to redress the balance, Dr Julie Gooderick and her team designed a series of GIFs to promote better sleep hygiene, and the results were dreamy.
How was the study conducted?
GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) animations have, up until now, mostly been used for sarcastic political commentary or as a quick way to reply to an emotive message, but in this new study, published in the European Journal of Sport Science, the team developed GIF’s with messages like “Screens away 30 minutes before bed” or “Replace caffeinated drink with non-caffeinated herbal tea or water.”
The messages were trailed on professional soccer players from the Women’s Super League, the top league for female football in England. The participants were sent these GIF’s every day for 2 weeks at 8pm.
What were the results?
Not only were the results overwhelmingly positive, with the players reporting improvements in their pillow time, but these results were achieved during the footballer’s mid-season, which can be a high-pressure time leading to less quality sleep. “’Working with professional female athletes for this study not only allowed us to help improve their sleep quality, but it also helped us to identify a new time and resource efficient method of sleep enhancement,” said Dr Gooderick of the findings.
We already know that many of us are highly suggestible as we scroll our nights away on social media, so swapping Instagram or TikTok for more positive messaging from specially designed GIFs could be the bedtime habit that we’ve been looking for. “Initial evidence highlights a promising strategy using GIF messaging as an individualised sleep hygiene education intervention,” added Gooderick. “This strategy may provide the opportunity for sport coaches and athletes to access specialist advice in sleep without the potential constraint of resources or location for both themselves and sleep specialists.” Since cell phone are here to stay, harnessing their potential for helping us hit the hay is a dream come true.
