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Digital sunset – screens off 60 minutes before sleep to protect melatonin
Night does not start when you fall asleep. It starts when you disconnect.

Digital Sunset: screens off 60 minutes before sleep

A simple ritual to let melatonin do its job.

⏱️ Read – 5 min
🌙 Practice – 60 min
🧠 Focus – falling asleep / night quality
📚 Sources – PNAS (2015), J Appl Physiol (2011), AASM (2026), Harvard Health (2024)

In the evening, your brain needs a clear signal: the day is over. Screens do the exact opposite: they extend daytime, visually and mentally. Digital Sunset is a deliberate cut-off – 60 minutes with no phone, laptop, or scrolling – so your body can shift into sleep mode without friction.

Warm light atmosphere – a calm moment before sleep

TEB note – The body follows light. It is up to you to choose which one.

The protocol

  • When: 60 minutes before your bedtime.
  • What: phone, laptop, tablet, TV – and especially notifications.
  • Instead: warm light and a slow activity like paper reading, a warm shower, gentle stretches, journaling, or ambient music.
  • Visual cue: dim the lights, ideally warm lamps – no ceiling light.
  • Mental cue: no more decisions – anything that requires replying or choosing goes to tomorrow.
Realistic version:
Start with 30 minutes three to four nights per week, then move to 45 or 60 minutes once it feels natural.

What you feel

At first, you may feel a kind of emptiness – the reflex to pick up your phone. Then, often: less agitation, slower thoughts, easier sleep onset.

If you pair this ritual with a stable routine, a consistent bedtime, and
glycine 3g at night
if it works for you, you create a glide path into sleep instead of a hard drop. And if the day has been heavy, the
decompression walk
helps the nervous system come down before you even switch the screens off.

🌙 This ritual takes nothing from you. It gives your night back. One hour, and sleep becomes a space again, not a crash.

Sources:

  • Chang A M, Aeschbach D, Duffy J F, Czeisler C A. Evening use of light-emitting eReaders negatively affects sleep, circadian timing and next-morning alertness. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2015. DOI:
    10.1073/pnas.1418490112.
  • Cajochen C et al. Evening exposure to LED backlit computer screen affects circadian physiology and cognitive performance. Journal of Applied Physiology, 2011.
  • American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Public-facing recommendation on screen use before bedtime, 2026.
  • Harvard Health Publishing. Blue light has a dark side, 2024.
  • American Academy of Ophthalmology. Digital Devices and Your Eyes, updated 2025.
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