It’s hard to walk down the street, sit on a bus, or gab a coffee at a local cafe without noticing something these days; just about everyone has their face buried in a smartphone, tablet, or laptop. Between the rise of social media, non-stop news feeds, games of all types to entertain, and even remote work, it seems most of us are spending much of our days in front of a screen regardless of our occupation. One could consider the effects this increased screen time is having on socialization, but even more significant is the effect our increased screen time is having on our down time. Here are three ways technology is affecting our sleep.
We’re more alert for longer. It may be tempting to zip through our news feed one last time before bed, but the backlighting of our screens not to mention the increased brain activity is tricking us into thinking we need to be alert right before we go to bed.
Backlighting suppresses melatonin. The blue light being emitted from the screens of our various devices actually inhibits the production of melatonin, one of the hormones that controls our sleep cycle, making it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep.
Buzzes and beeps reduce good sleep. Not everyone keeps their phone on silent, and throughout the night the various buzzes and beeps emanating from our devices wake us up, even if it’s not to the point of consciousness, and reduce the quality of our sleep.
To find out more ways in which technology affects our daily live, head to www.joygeeks.com for a wide variety of reads and more.
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