Key Takeaways
Short sleep on a long evening. One person went to bed at 18:43 local time (18:43 in the Netherlands, Europe) and woke up between 01:30 and 01:39 local time (01:30–01:39 in the Netherlands, Europe), which is about six hours and three quarters of sleep.
A phone that both helps and distracts. A smartphone and an artificial intelligence assistant helped count the exact hours of rest, but the same screen also kept shining in the dark, a reminder that phones can quietly steal sleep time.
Guides, not strict rules. Health organisations suggest most adults need seven to nine hours of sleep each night, so nights like this one sit just below the usual target and invite gentle changes rather than fear.
Story & Details
A quiet night in late 2025. It is a late night in 2025, already past midnight. A room is dark. A person wakes up and reaches for a smartphone. At the top of the screen the clock shows 01:39 local time (01:39 in the Netherlands, Europe). The battery sign is full. Three apps are still active in the background, and a soft button on the screen offers to “close all” of them at once.
A question in another language. The phone menu is in Spanish, but the worry is simple in any language: “How long did I really sleep?” Before this night, the person had gone to bed at 18:43 local time (18:43 in the Netherlands, Europe). Now the body feels both tired and confused. Was that enough rest, or just a long nap?
Step-by-step midnight math. On the screen, an artificial intelligence assistant answers in clear, friendly steps. First comes the time from 18:43 to 19:00: that is seventeen minutes. Next comes the long block from 19:00 to midnight: five full hours. After midnight, the last piece runs from 00:00 to 01:30, which is one hour and thirty minutes. When the parts are added, the total is six hours and forty-seven minutes of sleep.
A second check at 01:39. The person then thinks about the time on the top bar. If the real wake-up moment is not 01:30 but 01:39 local time (01:39 in the Netherlands, Europe), the last piece of the puzzle is a little longer. From midnight to 01:39 is one hour and thirty-nine minutes, so the full night becomes six hours and fifty-six minutes. The change is small, but the feeling is different: almost seven hours, but not quite.
What experts say about this amount. Large health groups such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States (North America), the Sleep Foundation, and the National Sleep Foundation explain that most adults do best with at least seven hours of sleep per night, often between seven and nine hours. They warn that getting less than seven hours again and again is linked with tired days and higher risk of many health problems [1][2][3][8]. This single night of about six hours and three quarters is close to the mark but still a little short.
The role of the glowing screen. The phone is not only a calculator. It is also a bright light right in front of the eyes. Studies from several countries, including work in the United Kingdom (Europe) and the United States (North America), have found that people who use smartphones a lot at bedtime often sleep fewer hours, take longer to fall asleep, and report worse sleep quality [4][5][6]. Some of this comes from blue light from the screen, which can keep the brain awake. Some of it comes from the content itself: fast messages, videos, and social feeds that make it hard to put the phone down.
A softer picture from new research. Newer work from Canada (North America) suggests the story is not black and white. One large study of adults there found that people who used their phones every night did not always sleep worse than people who never used them. In that study, the poorest sleep was seen in people who used their phones only a few nights a week. The researchers think the type of content and the level of excitement may matter more than the light alone [7]. Even so, many sleep doctors still advise keeping screens gentle and short before bed.
From the Netherlands to Portugal and beyond. The scene on this phone could happen in almost any home, from the Netherlands (Europe) to Portugal (Europe) and far beyond. Phones are now the main night-time companion for many people. They wake sleepers with alarms, give the news, and answer questions in many languages, all in one small device.
A tiny Dutch mini-lesson. For a moment, this night also becomes a small language class. In Dutch, “slaap” means sleep and “telefoon” means phone. Together they hint at a modern problem: too much “telefoon” and not enough “slaap.” The person holding the phone has almost seven hours of sleep behind them this time, but on other nights the balance may not be so kind.
What stays after the screen goes dark. After the calculation, the answer on the screen is clear. The person now knows the night gave between six hours and forty-seven minutes and six hours and fifty-six minutes of rest. The phone can be put face down. In the quiet that follows, a small lesson remains: it is easy to lose track of sleep when every free minute goes to a screen, yet it only takes simple time math to see the truth.
Conclusions
Small numbers, gentle message. This short night is not a crisis. It is a snapshot of how modern life works: a long evening, a bright phone, a helpful digital assistant, and a body that almost gets enough rest.
Phones as tools, not masters. The same device that pulls attention away from sleep can also give back control by making the numbers clear. When the hours are counted honestly, it becomes easier to decide whether to keep scrolling or to switch off the light.
A quiet hope for future nights. Health advice across the world points toward seven to nine hours of sleep for most adults. With that in mind, nights like this can be a friendly warning. A little less screen time before bed, in any country and any language, may be all it takes to let those numbers grow.
Selected References
[1] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “FastStats: Sleep in Adults.” May 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/data-research/facts-stats/adults-sleep-facts-and-stats.html
[2] Sleep Foundation. “How Much Sleep Do You Need?” July 2025. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/how-much-sleep-do-we-really-need
[3] National Sleep Foundation. “How Many Hours of Sleep Do You Really Need?” November 2025. https://www.thensf.org/how-many-hours-of-sleep-do-you-really-need/
[4] Sohn, S.Y. et al. “The Association Between Smartphone Addiction and Sleep: A UK Cross-Sectional Study of Young Adults.” Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2021. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.629407/full
[5] Sleep Foundation. “How Electronics Affect Sleep.” July 2025. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/how-electronics-affect-sleep
[6] National Sleep Foundation. “Screen Use Disrupts Precious Sleep Time.” March 2022. https://www.thensf.org/screen-use-disrupts-precious-sleep-time/
[7] Schneid, R. “Why Using Your Phone at Night May Not Be as Bad as You Think.” TIME, 2025. https://time.com/7335087/doom-scroll-phone-night-melatonin/
[8] American Academy of Sleep Medicine. “Seven or more hours of sleep per night: A health necessity for adults.” July 2024. https://aasm.org/seven-or-more-hours-of-sleep-per-night-a-health-necessity-for-adults/
[9] The Royal Institution. “Light, clocks and sleep: keeping an eye on the time.” YouTube video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw4D-f1C7DE
Appendix
Artificial intelligence assistant. A software program that can understand questions in natural language, give answers, and break down tasks like time calculations, often working inside a phone or computer app.
Bedtime. The moment a person decides to lie down and try to sleep, which in this story is 18:43 local time (18:43 in the Netherlands, Europe).
Blue light. A type of strong, cool light produced by many phone and computer screens that can keep the brain awake and may make it harder to fall asleep for some people.
Dutch mini-lesson. A short explanation that the Dutch word “slaap” means sleep and the Dutch word “telefoon” means phone, used here to show how closely phones and sleep are linked in daily life.
Sleep duration. The total length of time a person spends asleep between going to sleep and waking up again, not counting the minutes spent falling asleep, which in the story is between six hours and forty-seven minutes and six hours and fifty-six minutes.
Smartphone addiction. A pattern of heavy phone use in which a person finds it hard to put the device down, keeps using it even when it harms sleep or daily life, and often feels restless or anxious when the phone is not nearby.
My Diary - Leonardo Cardillo 