Smartphones have rapidly become an integral part of daily life and many people are extremely addicted to social media websites. As a result, it’s quite common for smartphone users to take their handsets to bed and casually post status updates. According to a paper published in Frontiers in Public Health, this is detrimental to your health and results in sleep deprivation. The research shows that blue light from smartphones delays people’s natural body clock and keeps them awake during later hours.
Professor Paul Gringras, a doctor from Evelina Children’s Hospital in London, said every new model was:
“bluer and brighter.”
He also criticized smartphone manufacturers for not implementing a “sleep mode”. In an interview with the BBC, he argued:
“There is converging data to say if you are in front of one of these devices at night-time it could prevent you falling asleep by an extra hour.”
“It’s not good enough to say do less and accept this is the world we live in, they’re fun devices but we do need some protection on what they do at night-time.”
The bright light shining into people’s eyes is a major distraction. Additionally, instead of the brain slowing down late at night, the barrage of messages, videos and icons on modern smartphones makes this pretty impossible. If you value your sleep it’s imperative to switch your smart-device off, before you go to bed. Manufacturers have to do more as smartphone addiction is a reality.
Do you take your smartphone to bed?
Image courtesy of NeonTommy.
