Devices Affect The Quality of your Sleep

One last tweet, one last ping and reading an e-book to go to bed might have downside effects to your health more than you think.

blue light and sleepAccording to Gigaom A sleep doctor says kids as young as toddlers are suffering from chronic insomnia, which in turn affects their behavior and performance at school and daycare. 

Eyesight getting worse – An eye doctor says he’s recently seen a few 35-year-old patients whose lenses which should be clear, were so cloudy they resemble 75-year-olds’.

Using your smartphone, tables or any other electronic device before bed on a regular basis can have a detrimental long-term effect on your health. This is because blue light that is emitted from these devices, impacts the way your body produces melatonin, the chemical in your body that makes you feel sleepy. Exposure to blue light at night essentially tricks your body into thinking its morning, which messes with your circadian rhythm and makes it harder to fall asleep.

Melatonin, apart from helping with sleep is also slows the progression of cancer and other diseases. Melatonin influences your circadian rhythm since it helps you fall asleep, it is an internal biological clock that regulates when you’re sleepy and when you feel awake throughout the day.  One can imagine the long term effect on health if indeed exposure to screens close to bed do affect the quality of your rest. 

Other effects os constant use of devices – tablets, smartphones, laptops, television before going to bed are (Source: Business):-

It can damage your eyes. Optometrists are said to be seeing higher levels of retinal stress in young people that could lead to disorders such as macular degeneration. In extreme cases, this can cause near blindness. This exposure can also cause retinal toxicity. 

A lack of melatonin could make you more vulnerable to disease. According to the US National Library of Medicine,  a lack of melatonin is linked to higher rates of breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers.

It can make you moody, too. Exposure to blue light has been said to have an impact on peoples’ mood. At the same time, lower melatonin levels in mice has been linked to higher rates of depression, as the US National Library of Medicine also says according to GigaOm.

Exposure to artificial light at night is recognized as a hazard to sleep, contributing to rising rates of disrupted and disordered sleep.

Exposure to artificial light at night – especially to the high concentrations of blue light coming from digital devices – will interfere with the ability to sleep. Too often, these devices find their way into our bedrooms, in many instances even to be used as alarm clocks.

What can you do?

  • Unwind before bedtime. Have a transition period, about 15 to 30 minutes, of technology-free time before you go into your bedroom for sleep.
  • Shut down your bedroom. Make where you sleep an electronic-free zone. According to AOL’s third annual “Email Addiction” survey, more than 40% of 4,000 respondents have checked email in the middle of the night. Put caps over your electric outlets to discourage plugging in for a recharge.
  • Disconnect your kids. A TV in your child’s bedroom has a negative effect on sleep quality. Give him or her a relaxing book to read before bed instead of the remote.
  • Set up rules. Setting up rules on the use of electronics will help set the routine for your children to follow. They will follow your example, if you are always wired up..they will be too.

See more tips here

Sources: Webmd
Photo source: dailymacil.co.uk

 

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