Overstimulated and Overtired: Why Your Brain Can’t Shut Off at Night

Have you ever climbed into bed after scrolling through your phone or watching a late-night show, only to find your brain still buzzing with thoughts? You’re exhausted, but sleep feels impossible. While blue light is often blamed for restless nights, another culprit is frequently overlooked: the digital content itself. The stories, news, videos, and even work emails we consume before bed don’t just pass through our eyes—they stimulate the brain in ways that make it difficult to power down. According to Dr. Keshav Narain of South Bay Retina, understanding this connection is key to improving sleep and overall eye health.

Understanding the challenge of overstimulation: This infographic explains how emotional arousal, cognitive overload, and digital consumption can lead to difficulty winding down at night. Tips for better sleep include logging off digital devices, engaging in calming activities, and establishing a bedtime ritual.

Why Your Brain Stays “On” After Screen Time: Overstimulated

Scrolling through social media, binge-watching series, or reading news before bed feeds the brain constant stimulation. Unlike reading a calming book or meditating, digital media tends to keep you alert and emotionally engaged. Emotional arousal from dramatic headlines, suspenseful storylines, or funny videos activates brain regions like the amygdala, keeping stress hormones such as cortisol active when your body should be winding down. Social media likes, notifications, and autoplay features stimulate reward pathways by releasing dopamine, the “feel-good” chemical, making your brain crave just one more scroll, one more video, or one more refresh. Additionally, rapid information intake from emails, chats, or fast-moving content increases cognitive load on the prefrontal cortex, preventing the mind from entering a restful state. In short, the content we consume at night wires the brain for wakefulness instead of restfulness.

Why This Matters for Your Sleep

Sleep is not just about closing your eyes—it’s a carefully orchestrated process that lowers heart rate, decreases stress hormones, and quiets mental activity. Overstimulation before bed interrupts this process, leading to difficulty falling asleep, lighter and less restorative sleep, increased next-day fatigue, and greater susceptibility to digital eye strain and headaches. Studies have shown that late-night media use not only delays sleep onset but also reduces overall sleep quality, particularly in young adults and adolescents, who are already heavy digital users. Dr. Narain highlights that understanding the cognitive impact of digital content is essential for maintaining both sleep and eye health.

Practical Takeaways: Helping Your Brain Wind Down

The good news is that small changes can make a big difference. Setting a digital curfew by logging off 1–2 hours before bed, choosing calming activities such as reading or listening to soothing music, and selecting slow-paced, relaxing content over dramatic or emotionally charged material can help. Creating a consistent bedtime ritual—dimming lights, stretching, or sipping herbal tea—signals the brain to transition to rest. Charging devices outside the bedroom reduces temptation and promotes better sleep hygiene.

Final Thoughts

It’s not just the light from screens that keeps us awake—it’s the stimulation from the content we consume. By being mindful of what we watch, read, and scroll through in the evening, we give our brains the space they need to shift from alertness to rest. Dr. Keshav Narain emphasizes that balancing screen time, digital content, and sleep-friendly habits is critical for both mental and ocular health.

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References

1. Carter, B., Rees, P., Hale, L., Bhattacharjee, D., & Paradkar, M. S. (2016). Association between portable screen-based media device access or use and sleep outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatrics, 170(12), 1202–1208. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2571467

   
   

2. Exelmans, L., & Van den Bulck, J. (2016). Bedtime mobile phone use and sleep in adults. Social Science & Medicine, 148, 93–101. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26688551/

   
   

3. Narain, K. (2025). Overstimulated and Overtired: Understanding Digital Content’s Impact on Sleep. South Bay Retina Studies.

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