Reddit told me to ignore my phone notifications before bed and I actually regret it

Some user in this sub said I should put my phone on silent and stop checking DMs past 9pm to sleep better. I tried it for a full week and my anxiety got worse because I missed my sister's text about our mom being in the ER at midnight. Like yeah maybe it works for some people but I need to know if something urgent happens, you know? Has anyone else had this backfire when you actually needed to be reachable?

3 comments

3 Comments

adamthompson27d agoMost Upvoted

Same thing happened to me actually! I compromised by using Do Not Disturb but setting it so calls and texts from a few key people like family still come through. Maybe try that instead of going completely silent so you can sleep without missing the important stuff.

dianahayes27d agoTop Commenter

Disagree totally. The whole point of Do Not Disturb is to actually get some peace. Setting exceptions for family just defeats the purpose because then you're still checking your phone waiting for that one text or call. Plus what counts as "important" anyway? Your mom's late night grocery list is not an emergency. If something is truly urgent people will call twice or the hospital will leave a voicemail. You're training yourself to be on call 24/7 with that setup. Better to just flip the switch and actually sleep.

susan64927d ago

Yeah but @dianahayes here's the thing nobody brings up - what if you live alone or have medical stuff? My neighbor's elderly dad fell at 2am and if she had DND on with zero exceptions she wouldn't have known till morning. Sometimes it's less about being on call and more about having a safety net for the rare actual crisis. The grocery list thing is just poor boundary setting on their end, not a phone issue.