It is common for many people to watch TV or play on their phone before they go to sleep. I am guilty of doing this. I think I have become addicted to watch an episode of One Tree Hill or some other of my favorite shows on Netflix while playing on my phone before bed. I do not know why I do it or how it started, but now I cannot stop. After researching, I have come to the conclusion that the use of electronics before bed is bad for one’s sleep as well as their brain.
I discovered multiple experiments and studies that support the hypothesis that electronics before bed is bad for an individual.
One study performed by researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital randomly split up 12 participants into two groups. The first group read a book on an I-Pad four hours before they went to sleep. The second group read the same book but a printed out version. After 5 days, the two groups switched and the people who originally read from an I-Pad were now reading from a print out version. Not surprisingly, the group who read from the I-Pad had a much more difficult time falling asleep. Also, the I-Pad users secreted less melatonin. Melatonin is the hormone that should rise at night and cause sleepiness. Since they had a decreased level of melatonin caused by the bright light of the I-Pad, it took them approximately an hour longer to fall asleep at night. 
Another source, CBSNEWS, states that “ kids ages 11 to 13 slept significantly less when they frequently communicated on a cell phone, surfed the Internet, played video games, watched television, or if they used a computer to study.” This same study found a correlation between sleep deprivation and obesity, depression, difficulty regulating emotions and lower grades. This studied contained 738 students and the researchers asked them about their sleep and technology habits. The results were no surprise. Similar to the previous study, this one also supports my hypothesis. This cannot be a coincidence that multiple studies show the same results. It is important to note that just like in every experiment, third variables can play an important role. These variables could include gender, how old the person is, how long they watch TV for, and if it is an everyday thing.
Lastly, in a survey of 1,508 people, 63 % of them said they are not getting enough sleep at night and 95% of those surveyed said that they used an electronic device within the hour before bed.
It is important to note that the one area that all of these studies agree is that the use of electronics delays the time one needs to fall asleep and that the light from an electronic or television makes the individual less tired. This is because the light from the device makes the body think that it is still daytime. These studies did not address the quality of the sleep. Once asleep, did the individual have a restful sleep? Did this use of electronics impact this as well?
The one point that was proven was that if you wish to fall asleep quickly, , do not use electronics within the hour before bed. More studies need to be performed to see if there are any long-term effects but the facts prove that the light from use of electronics stimulates the brain and makes it more difficult to fall asleep. I know it will be hard to try and not use your phone right before you go to sleep, but I am sure you will fall asleep earlier and get a much better sleep. I am going to try this as well and see what happens. Good-Night!
Ever since the day I purchased my first smartphone, my parents have been telling me the same thing. It seems as though my roommate is experiencing insomnia due to the fact he watches vine before bed every night. He doesn’t end up going to bed until 2:30 in the morning because he is addicted to that form of social media. This link describes the hazards associated with the social media application, Vine.
Although reading/looking off things such as television, ipads, and laptop before bed can be detrimental, there is a way to reduce the negative effects of it. One can do this by blocking out “blue light” which is a very short wavelength that produces a higher amount of energy. It is the mechanism that causes insomnia by throwing off one’s circadian rhythm (also known as one’s biological clock). This blue-light can also be harmful to our eyes by damaging retinal cells and is also a risk factor for age-related macular degeneration – a deterioration of the retina responsible for sharp, central vision. None the less, there are apps on computers, phones, and Ipads that allows one to block out this blue light, Click here for more information on blue light.
Isn’t strange how we get caught up in these seemingly harmless acts-that most of us will probably not stop doing-even with this new found knowledge? This post prompted me to look into solutions to this issue, which the internet was not short of. I found that a lot of newer electronics have a “nighttime” brightness mode. It seems like this solution combats part of the problem, but doesn’t tackle the whole issue. It’ll be interesting to see if the information in your blog will ever become more of a concern to people and how they will react.
I am sure that we have all heard this before, not that it has stopped me from using electronics before bed, but I was curious as to whether the usage of electronics before bed actually was bad for you. The studies you provided did, in fact, back these claims. I was surprised to the extent in which the usage of electronics before bed affected the individuals in the tests. It was amazing to me that the usage of electronics four hours before bed for a week affected the individual’s ability to sleep even once they began reading the printed version of the book. Hopefully with this knowledge in mind I can limit my usage of electronics before bed.
Brandon, I think it has to do with the stimulation you get from the brightness of light coming off the screen. This post brings up a good point in this sentence “Since they had a decreased level of melatonin caused by the bright light of the I-Pad, it took them approximately an hour longer to fall asleep at night.” I have a difficult time falling asleep because I’m so alert at night playing on my phone or computer, and actually have to take melatonin in pill form to start to get that drowsy, sleepy feeling. One thing I notice is that if I take it and still am on my laptop or playing on my phone I still have a hard time falling asleep even with the melatonin in my system. Do you know if there are any studies about the effectiveness of how well the melatonin would work if you still continued to do stimulated activity?
I am also guilty of doing it. It has become a part of my routine that I go through Instagram and Twitter before bed very night and after reading your post, I should probably stop. I think sleep is much more important than social media. The research and study methods on this was really interesting and clearly showed that technology before bed impacts your sleep. Instead of technology, here is a link that gives other techniques for falling asleep faster! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/15-ways-to-fall-asleep-faster_55dde3e7e4b04ae497054470
It makes sense that those who read the iPad had a harder time sleeping. A possible mechanism for this is that artificial light has negative cognitive effects on the brain, especially when trying to fall asleep. If you like to read before bed, it definitely seems like a good idea to read from print. This was a very interesting post, especially since I have a hard time falling asleep at night. Great work!
I’ve heard that your not supposed to be on electronics within an hour of going to sleep(which I always do) but I always figured that it was because of watching videos or communication or games. I find it very surprising that reading on an ipad versus a paper book makes any difference at all, let alone such a noticeable one. I am interested to see some more research about what makes our brains react so differently to the words coming off of a screen versus a piece of paper.