Struggling to Sleep? This 3-Step Anti-Scroll Routine Can Help

Getting out of the evening scroll trap doesn’t take willpower — just a smarter setup and three simple steps to reclaim your sleep.

• Willpower is a limited resource — and by evening, it’s usually gone. Counting on it to stop scrolling is a losing bet.
• Screen time disrupts sleep not just because of blue light, but because of cognitive activation and micro-doses of dopamine that keep your brain on edge.
• Create friction: change your environment so checking your phone requires physical effort (e.g., charge it in another room).
• Replace, don’t just remove: fill the void left by scrolling with a low-effort analog activity like reading or light stretching.
• Create a shutdown ritual: quickly jotting down tomorrow’s tasks on paper helps your mind unload anxiety and wind down.
• Test this routine for just 7 days, focusing on how you feel in the morning instead of aiming for perfection.

Evening Anti-Scroll Routine: 3 Steps to Unplug (and Sleep Better) Without Willpower

Between 9:30 and 10:00 PM — ever notice? — your willpower packs its bags and leaves without saying goodbye. You’re left on the couch, stuck in some kind of catatonic limbo. You’re tired, you want to sleep, but your thumb just keeps scrolling. Cat videos. Unsolicited geopolitical takes. People baking 80% hydration focaccia.

It’s not your fault. Trying to fight algorithms built by behavioral engineers with your worn-out evening self is like trying to stop a freight train with a Post-it.

We’re not here to bash smartphones. They’re incredible tools. What we are here to do is figure out how to stop that tool from becoming your sleep’s worst enemy. The solution isn’t turning into a hermit monk — it’s reducing friction toward sleep and adding it back in toward your screen. Here’s how to do it in three steps, no bootcamp discipline required.

Why Nighttime Scrolling Gets You (It’s Not Just the Light)

For years we’ve been told blue light is the problem. And yes, blue light inhibits melatonin. But if that were the whole story, a pair of amber-tinted glasses would fix everything. The real issue, as many systematic reviews on sleep quality confirm, is cognitive activation.

Every time you see something new, your brain gets a micro-hit of dopamine. It’s a blast of novelty. You’re asking your mind to process information, emotions, and opinions at high speed. Basically, while your body lies still, your brain is running hurdles.

This state of high alert — or arousal — keeps your nervous system from switching to “rest and digest” mode. You can’t fall asleep if your brain thinks it’s in the middle of a busy square.

The 3 Steps: Power Down Without “Willpower”

The golden rule: don’t count on your nighttime willpower — it doesn’t exist. Count on how you design your environment.

Step 1: Environment (Increase Friction)

If your phone’s on the nightstand, you’ll check it. It’s physics. You need to create a physical barrier between you and the device.

The most powerful and budget-friendly move? Get an analog alarm clock (yes, the kind that goes tick-tock — or even a basic digital one, as long as it’s dumb) and plug your phone in somewhere like the kitchen, hallway, or bathroom.

If checking Instagram means getting out of a warm bed and walking into the cold hallway, odds are you’ll decide it’s not worth it. You just used laziness to your advantage.

Step 2: Replacement

Your brain hates a void. Take away your phone and stare at the wall, and anxiety creeps in. You need to replace scrolling with something enjoyable but low on dopamine.

It doesn’t have to be “productive.” You don’t need to learn Sanskrit.

• Read 5 pages: paper, not screens. Paper doesn’t send notifications.
• Warm shower or stretching: something that brings you back into your body and out of your head.
• Audio: a mellow podcast or audiobook (set a sleep timer) works great — audio is less stimulating than visuals.

Step 3: Closure

A lot of scrolling is just avoidance — keeping your mind off tomorrow’s to-do list. To close that open loop, keep a notepad by your bed.

Write down 3 things (just three) you need to do tomorrow. Or dump the thought that’s bugging you. Once it’s on paper, your brain knows the info is saved and can stop running it in the background. It takes maybe 120 seconds.

Real life’s messy. Maybe you want to unplug, but your partner or roommates are blasting TikToks in bed right next to you.
Don’t become the household preacher. It doesn’t work — and it’s annoying.

1. 1. 1. Sensory isolation: an eye mask and earplugs (or noise-canceling headphones) can turn your side of the bed into a room within a room.
      2. Be the example: instead of saying “turn that thing off,” grab your book and start reading. Calm is often contagious. When they see you sleeping better and waking up more refreshed, they’ll ask what your secret is.

The 7-Day Rule: What to Track

Don’t try to change your life forever starting tonight — that’s overwhelming. Just commit to testing this routine for 7 days. One week.

Don’t track how many hours you sleep (that creates performance anxiety). Focus on two subjective signals:

1. 1. 1. Sleep latency: how long does it take you to fall asleep?
      2. Wake-up energy: do you feel less like a zombie when the alarm goes off?

If after a week the results don’t convince you, your phone’s still there waiting. But spoiler: you probably won’t go back.

1. 1. 1. Don’t check the time. Knowing you only have two hours left amps up anxiety — which raises cortisol — which keeps you up.
      2. Stay in the dark. Even dim light tells your brain “it’s daytime.”
      3. Just breathe. Use a simple rhythm (inhale for 4 seconds, exhale for 6). Don’t aim to sleep — just aim to rest. Sleep often returns when you stop chasing it.

For tonight, try just this quick sequence:

1. 1. 1. 1. Charge your phone in another room (or at least away from the bed).
         2. Set your alarm (the dumb one).
         3. Get in bed and take 5 deep breaths.
            That’s it. Goodnight.