The benefits of power up the phone while wiring down the mind : Decreasing sleep onset latency through smartphone interaction

Abstract: To be able to sleep is vital for our existence. During the process of falling asleep, many people are struggling and as an outcome, various mental health problems and sleep disorders are occurring among them. Previous studies are blaming the spreading health problems on the smartphone users for bringing their phone into their bedroom. Simultaneously, studies are showing that nocturnal smartphone usage is extremely common, with a huge spike in use during nighttime. Also, findings in studies with a different area of focus are showing that people suffering from sleep difficulties and insomnia benefits from visual stimulation and focused attention during sleep onset. This study aims to find beneficial smartphone interactions for people who are currently experiencing sleep problems. By gathering information from literature and previous studies done in the fields of insomnia, mental health problems, smartphone usage, human-computer interaction and sleep in general, the theoretical foundation of this study is laid out. To verify the previous findings and find out more about nocturnal smartphone usage, interviews and exercises with both subjective good and bad sleepers are performed. Ideas are generated and extracted through a workshop together with the collaboration partners. Visualization of the possible solution is made as a hi-fi prototype, which is later tested upon the target group of bad sleepers for three nights. In combination, the solution concept is tested together with a secondary concept through the Wizard of Oz method. The evaluation of the concepts is collected as an online form through their smartphones and the feedback from the participants is leading to a final design suggestion. This study is presenting solutions for designing for nocturnal usage, which through this study has been proven decreasing the subjective sleep onset latency among the users and in the long run will improve the user's digital well being.