People from all walks of life are wed to their electronics. The reality for many individuals is that the use electronic gadgets is impacting their ability to sleep. The National Sleep Foundation reports that the use of electronics within an hour before going to bed is having a serious impact on the ability of a large segment of the population to obtain a healthy night’s sleep.
Upwards to 95 percent of people report that they use some type of electronic gadget within an hour before going to bed for the night. These include people who use mobile devices, different types of computers and video games within this time frame.
Scientific Research on the Light Emitted by Electronic Gadgets
A number of scientific research studies now suggest that electronic devices possess the potential to disrupt normal sleep patterns. The circadian rhythm is the biological process with a direct impact on a healthy sleep cycle.
Scientific research now suggests that the circadian rhythm is particularly sensitive to light that possess shorter wavelengths. Light with short wavelengths appears to delay the release of melatonin into a person’s system. The delay of this release is connected with the ability of a person to fall asleep at night and stay in that state throughout the night.
How Light From Electronic Gadgets Disrupts Sleep Patterns
As noted, research now suggests that light with short wavelengths delays the release of melatonin into a person’s system. This is blue light with wavelengths in the 460 nanometer range on the electromagnetic spectrum. The light associated with electronics like mobile devices and computers is in this nanometer range.
Some suggest that television viewing before bedtime is not relaxing as some people may suggest. That may be the case for some people, but it is not for the same reason that light from the types of electronic gadgets references impacts sleep patterns. Televisions emit light in a different nanometer range.
Because the light from certain electronic gadgets appears to impede the release of melatonin, a person using these devices actually may be charging a person up precisely when the body needs to be winding down. These devices appear to energize rather than sooth can calm.
The most basic step a person must consider taking to prevent certain electronics from negatively impacting sleep is to set them aside at least an hour before bedtime. Electronic gadgets should be banned from the bedroom to ensure the best possible, restorative night of sleep.
Healthier sleep patterns will not develop immediately after the ban on use of electronics within an hour of bedtime. A number of nights will need to pass before the impact electronics have had on sleep patterns is fully resolved. The length of time varies from one person to another.