Taking technology to bed

PA

We're living in the smartphone era and for some Brits at least, the phone has become a constant companion.

In a survey of 2,000 adults, half said looking at their phone was the very last thing they did in the evening and the first thing they did upon waking.

A third (32%) admitted they had ditched the bedtime reading in favour of browsing the internet, social networking and catching up on work emails.

One in five keeps their phone with them on the bed or under the pillow and a similar number (21%) said they regularly wake up in the morning with their smartphone still in their hand.

The study found that the average time people put down their phone for the night was 10:58pm.

A fifth will bid goodnight to their friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter as they settle down for the night, with 8% even admitting they are more likely to say goodnight to their virtual friends than the partners sleeping next to them.

The love affair with the smartphone is ruffling some feathers though, with a fifth saying they frequently row with their partner about how much time they spend on their phone in bed. Just under a third (32%) said using a mobile phone in bed was anti-social.

Almost half of those surveyed struggle to take their mind off what they have read on their mobile, and over two-thirds (69%) said they receive late night e-mails and text messages from work colleagues.

Mark Fells, Director of Digital at Premier Inn, which carried out the survey said: "In the last five years
owning a smartphone has become common place for most adults and we all love the freedom and accessibility that technology allows us to have. However, it appears we need to learn to 'switch off' when it comes to our bedtime routines."