We’ve known for years that viewing electronics before bed disturbs or prevents sleep. But the National Sleep Foundation finds that 95 per cent of people are staring at screens — and two-thirds don’t get enough sleep during the week.
Image via jencu.
As a helpful reminder, it’s not just a motherly nag about “getting ready for bed” that makes screens before bed, or especially in bed, quite a bad idea. That may be part of it, as having a day-in, day-out routine helps your brain know when it should shift its activity toward rest. But that blue-ish light has a direct effect on your brain chemistry:
Charles Czeisler, of Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, said exposure to artificial light before going to bed can increase alertness and suppress the release of melatonin, a sleep-promoting hormone.
So, the song remains the same: try and get away from screens before bed, if you can, so you won’t feel like falling into your screen the next day.
Not getting enough sleep? Turn off the technology [Reuters via Gizmodo]
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