Learn Hardcore Russian: Перед сном пора выключить свет и убрать телефон, чтобы ночью мне лучше спалось. - Before sleep it’s time to turn off the light and put the phone away so that I sleep better at night.

The preposition перед meaning before / in front of requires the instrumental case.
So перед сном = before sleep / before going to bed, with сон → сном (instrumental singular).

Is перед сном the same as перед тем, как лечь спать? When would I choose one over the other?

They’re similar in meaning but differ in style and structure:

перед сном = short, neutral, very common: before sleep / before bed
перед тем, как лечь спать = more explicit and action-focused: before (the moment) you go to sleep / lie down to sleep
Use перед сном for general “bedtime” advice; use the longer version if you want to emphasize the action of going to bed.

What does пора mean here, and why is there no verb like есть?

Пора means it’s time (to...) and is often used in an impersonal construction:

Пора + infinitive = It’s time to + verb
Russian normally doesn’t use a present-tense to be verb, so you don’t say пора есть in the sense of is time.

Why do we use the infinitives выключить and убрать?

Because пора is followed by an infinitive (dictionary form):
пора выключить… и убрать… = it’s time to turn off… and put away…
This is a standard pattern in Russian: пора делать / пора сделать.

What’s the difference between выключить and выключать in this kind of sentence?

It’s about aspect:

выключить (perfective) = turn off (once), complete the action
выключать (imperfective) = turn off (in general / repeatedly / as a process)
With пора, Russian often uses perfective to mean “time to do it (and finish it)”: пора выключить свет.

Why is it выключить свет (accusative), not another case?

выключить is a transitive verb—it directly takes an object in the accusative case:
выключить (что?) свет.

What does убрать телефон mean exactly—“remove the phone”?

In everyday Russian, убрать телефон usually means put the phone away (e.g., off the bed, into a drawer, away from your hands). It can also mean tidy it away. The context suggests: stop using it and physically put it aside.

Why is there a comma before чтобы?

Because чтобы introduces a purpose clause (so that / in order that). In Russian, such subordinate clauses are separated by a comma:
…, чтобы ночью мне лучше спалось.

Why is it чтобы … спалось (past/neuter), not something like a present tense?

After чтобы, Russian commonly uses a form that looks like past tense to express a desired/goal situation. Here it’s the impersonal past form:

(чтобы) … спалось ≈ so that … would sleep well / so that it would be easier to sleep
It’s not “past” in meaning; it’s a typical subjunctive-like pattern.

What is спалось? I know спать, but not this form.

спалось comes from the verb спаться (an impersonal, reflexive-style verb meaning “to sleep (well/easily), to be able to sleep”).

мне спится = I can sleep / it’s easy for me to sleep
мне спалось = same idea, but used here after чтобы
So чтобы ночью мне лучше спалось = so that at night I’d sleep better / so that it would be easier for me to sleep at night.

Why is мне in the dative case?

Because спаться is typically used impersonally: the person is expressed in the dative as the “experiencer.”

мне спится = literally “to me it sleeps” → I can sleep / I feel like sleeping So мне лучше спалось = I would sleep better / it would be easier for me to sleep.

What role does лучше play here? Is it “better” or “best”?

лучше is the comparative of хорошо:

хорошо = well
лучше = better
So мне лучше спалось means I’d sleep better (compared to otherwise).

Why is ночью used instead of something like в ночь / в ночи?

ночью is a very common adverbial form meaning at night / during the night. It’s the standard way to say “at night” in many contexts:

ночью мне лучше спалось = at night I slept better / I would sleep better at night.