You’ll think twice before using your tablet in bed after reading this
You’ve probably already realised that reading electronic screens in bed can affect your sleep, but new research suggests that it could also affect your long-term health.
Reading on a screen – whether it’s a tablet, e-reader, laptop, smartphone, or any device that emits similar blue-light emissions– not only makes it harder to fall asleep, but adversely impacts overall health, alertness and the circadian clock (which synchronises the daily rhythms of sleep to external environmental time cues), according to a new study from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.
“We found the body’s natural circadian rhythms were interrupted by the short-wavelength enriched light, otherwise known as blue light, from these electronic devices,” said Anne-Marie Chang, PhD, author and associate neuroscientist.
The study required 12 participants to read an iPad for four hours before bed for five days and then repeat the process with a printed book. Some participants started with the printed books and moved to iPads.
The iPad readers were found to take longer to fall asleep, felt less sleepy at night, had shorter REM sleep, secreted less melatonin (which helps regulate your sleep) and were less alert in the morning, even though they received the same full eight hours of sleep as book readers.
“There’s a lot of scepticism out there; a lot of people think this is psychological,” said Charles Czeisler, director of the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School. “But what we showed is that reading from light-emitting, e-reader devices has profound biological effects.”
This new research is the latest addition to a growing body of research that shows that reading from backlit screens that emit blue light have detrimental effects on not only sleep but our long-term health. Chronic suppression of melatonin has been linked to increased risk of prostate, colorectal and breast cancers, and a consistent lack of sleep has been associated with obesity and diabetes.
The answer to the potential problem is quite simple though. Put away the glowing devices at least an hour before bedtime. Read printed books or consider e-readers, such as Kindle, that do not emit light.
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