New research says 9:45 p.m. is ideal time to turn off notifications before bed

A new study conducted for Amazon Kindle reveals a quarter of Americans use devices with notifications until the minute they go to sleep. Neuroscientist Dr. Mark Williams shares his tips for protecting your bedtime routine.

From the moment we wake up in the morning, to the moment our head finally hits the pillow, we're bombarded by device notifications that demand our attention — leading to 87% of Americans feeling stressed in the evening, according to a new study* conducted on behalf of Amazon Kindle.

The research revealed that, throughout their day, nearly nine out of ten (88%) Americans check their devices for new notifications, with some reporting they check up to 55 times in an hour. Over half (60%) of participants reported feeling frequently distracted by notifications, and a quarter said they receive alerts until the moment they go to sleep.

"When we hear a notification sound or feel our phone vibrate, our brain interprets it as something that requires our immediate focus, so we're in a constant state of alertness," neuroscientist Dr. Mark Williams explains. "Each time our attention is diverted by a notification it takes 60-90 seconds to refocus back on the task that we were originally doing. These disruptions are seizing our time, resulting in decreased efficiency."

Dr. Williams recommends "at least one hour of notification-free time before bed to allow our minds to relax and prepare for sleep." With Americans falling asleep around 10:45 p.m. on average, the ideal time to "unplug" is about 9:45 p.m.

Here are Dr. Williams' top tips for "protecting our final hour" at the end of the day:

1. At least one hour before you go to sleep, turn off laptops, tablets, computers. Put your phone in sleep mode and place devices out of sight.
2. Consider spending the last hour before bed reading on a Kindle. It doesn't beep or buzz, allows you to adjust the display brightness, and offers access to a vast selection of books to suit your mood and help you de-stress.
3. Limit devices with the ability to send notifications in your bedroom. If you use your phone as an alarm clock, consider replacing it with a digital alarm clock or an Echo Spot. Keep your sleeping space dark, cool, and quiet without distractions.
4. One way to start winding down is to make notes in a journal, notepad, or even a Kindle Scribe. Write down what you did that day, what went well, what could have gone better, what you might do differently next time, and what you would like to achieve tomorrow. This practice will help you slow your mind and begin the reset process.

*The research was conducted by Censuswide, an independent market research company, with 2,000 adults in the U.S. between February 14 and 25, 2025.