Less is More.

 

Copyright © Mark Kelly 2025.

No doubt you are familiar with that expression - "Less is More". But I was thinking about it from a different angle than the usual connotation.

The way I have started to look at it is this: less time in front of my PC is more time engaging with the real world. Less time on my iPad is more benefit to my posture, instead of craning my neck, causing my back to ache later in the day.

Less is more beneficial to the human condition. Less screen time reduces the exposure to blue light, which messes with the body's cortisol levels, which in turn reduces the quality of your sleep.

Up until recently I'd wake every morning with a dull headache, feeling fatigued as if I hadn't slept, and my body aching. I thought it was my pillow, and after several different types, nothing changed. I drank water before bed, taking into account dehydration, this just made me get up to pee more frequently during the night, interrupting my sleep. I listened to relaxing music before sleeping. Nothing.

But the idea regarding EMF (Electro Magnetic Frequency) sprang to mind. Why? Because the one constant through all this was my iPad sat next to my head through the night, not eighteen inches away. I would use my iPad as an alarm clock when needed, but primarily I was watching Netflix every night before sleeping, then closing the app and placing the iPad on  my beside table. 

So what could it hurt? Worth a try. I turned off the iPad, placing it in the other room before going to bed.

The following day I woke with zero headache, feeling as if I'd slept well and no aching in my body. Coincidence?

Apparently not. It's been three weeks with no iPad before bed, and said device left turned off in the other room. No more headaches and I sleep well and rested and certainly do not wake feeling like crap and aching.

So, if this is you, waking up feeling like crap, dull, headache, fatigued, look at what you keep beside you by your bed. Mobile devices left turned on all night? Turn them off and move them to a different room. If you're worried you'll miss that 'end of the world' phone call, then place them on the landing and leave them on - but NOT by your bedside. 

If you watch a mobile device religiously before you sleep - STOP. Blue light from your screen is also ruining your quality of sleep. Bed is for sleeping. It's a bad habit you need to break. Try it for a week. You've nothing to lose, it doesn't cost anything, and you could find you gain better sleep and feel better for it.

So, Less is More? In relation to technology, social media, staying up late, eating a crappy junk food diet, to name but a few, yup, less of those and more of a healthier, more beneficial lifestyle as a result.

Less inaction, More action, basically. Don't let your world view be only that of a screen. Find it for yourself, step outside, interact with it, breathe in the air, move. 

I leave you with a musical piece that I feel is bright, breezy and in part, uplifting to the mind, body and soul. For me it encapsulates a gentle, sunny day, no stress, no worries. So I hope you enjoy this track. And please, if you do find your sleep improves after removing the devices from your bedside, feel free and let me know.

Here is Aphex Twin - "Avril 14th". Happy day.