Sleep Disorders From Smartphones
If waking up was hard for you this morning, your smartphone might be the one to blame. Emory Sleep Disorders Laboratory, Medical Director, Dr. David Schulman, reported that using your device right before you go to bed may make it harder to fall asleep.
Checking your email, Facebook, Instagram, and other social networks makes it hard to disengage your mind. We naturally want to respond to things or engage in conversations and post which doesn’t help in relaxing your mind. Even the light on your phone naturally stimulates your mind and has an alerting affect.
Dr. Schulman suggests reading a book instead of using your smart device. Light pointing downward as opposed to directly in your eyes can be less obtrusive. Artificial light exposure between dusk and the time we go to bed at night suppresses release of the sleep promoting hormone melatonin.
In a poll by the nonprofit National Sleep Foundation, 95 percent of people reported that they frequently use an electronic device the hour before bedtime. Although Facebook is not to blame, 19 percent of people under 25 reported posting to Facebook or Twitter whenever they wake up at night and 28 percent said they logged into social-networking before even getting out of bed in the morning. With teenagers being recommended to get close to 9 hours of sleep a night, an electronic curfew may be good for yourself or your teen.
Although all of our smartphones and tablets help our lives in one way or another, we need to make sure they are not stealing our sleep in return or causing us to fall asleep behind the wheel. Be sure to check out our blog for more information on how smart phones can also cause severe accidents as a result of distracted driving.