The phone isn’t the villain. Arm’s reach at bedtime often is. Park it on a charger outside arm’s reach: no forever ban, no miracle claims.
Make the boundary easy
Distance removes notifications, light, and “just once” checking from the sleep surface. Choose another room, or a dresser across the room. Solve the alarm first with a loud ringtone, standalone clock, or wearable. Turn on Do Not Disturb and allow only essential contacts; charge face-down.
Five-night experiment
Night 1: choose the spot and test the alarm. Nights 2–4: park at wind-down and note one sentence. Night 5: keep it if helpful; otherwise move it farther or check caffeine and room heat. For shared rooms, kids, caregiving, travel, and on-call work, preserve needed contacts and park optional apps. One slip is data.
Pair it with evening cues
Use a wind-down, breathing, cooler bedroom, and caffeine cutoff.
Want a gentle week?
The free 7-Night Sleep Reset has a teaser + form; the printable PDF arrives by email after joining.
Bottom line: Keep the phone; move the charger. Ongoing severe sleep problems need qualified clinical care.