Glow of Modern Gadgets at Night May Disrupts Sleep

Long before, researchers have found out that light can hold back melatonin, a hormone that helps generate sleep. Nowadays, even after sunset, people are still flooded with lights, whether through texting, internet browsing or watching television.

According to Dr. Steven Lockley, of Harvard University and a co-author of “Sleep: A Very Short Introduction, when people expose themselves to light at night it become unnatural for them to do making themselves believe that it’s a daytime.

Light makes it harder for a person to catch some sleep and shift the body’s internal clock, or circadian rhythm. However, there is actually one kind of light that is more disturbing than others. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) claims that blue wavelengths, the kind of light emitted by energy-efficient light bulbs and electronic gadgets such as cellphones, computers and TVs should be avoided.

 

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Dr. Nathaniel Watson of the AASM said that blue light has a greatest tendency to alter circadian rhythms and yet apparently, blue light is the color of the day at present.

A recent Sleep Foundation in fact revealed that 95 percent of Americans use electronic gadgets several nights in a week before going to bed.

Lockley affirmed that even blue light can also bring sleeping problems. Aside from disrupting sleep, the study also revealed that health may be at risk due to poor sleeping habit. Studies have linked sleep deprivation to depression, diabetes, obesity, heart ailments and even cancer.

Electronic gadget addicts should have to moderate their use of gadgets and have a regular bed time routine, sleep in a cool dark room away from gadgets. Most importantly, avoid using gadgets emitting blue light two or three hours before bedtime.

If you really have to use gadgets before going to bed, limiting the amount of light that was emitted from the screen would somehow help. You can turn down its brightness, said Watson. Also, a natural sleeping aid could help you catch sleep after being exposed to gadgets.

Meanwhile, exposure to sunlight during the day will help a person keeps alert and helps the body clock reset every night.

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