Author:
Natascha WoutersonAND DOES A CELL PHONE HAVE ANY OTHER IMPACT ON DAILY LIFE?
A British survey of 2,000 Britons by O2 found that we use our cell phones for about 119 minutes every day, while we spend an average of only 97 minutes in the company of our partner. That's almost a third less. Wouldn't have thought it, would you? That your cell phone is more important than your partner in terms of time spent.
AND HOW DOES YOUR CELL PHONE AFFECT YOUR SLEEP?
The fact that many people's sleep is disturbed is due to artificial light, according to Professor Charles Czeisler. Think especially of smartphone, tablet and labtop. Czeisler is banned from Harvard University.
"Artificial light prevents the production of sleep-inducing neurons in the brain and interferes with the nocturnal release of the hormone melatonin, which stimulates sleep, while activating the neurons that make one alert."
Between 1950 and 2000, exposure to artificial light quadrupled for the average Briton. This is directly related to the fact that more and more people are getting too little sleep. Artificial light from smartphone, tablet or laptop confuses the brain by causing what is known as "second revival" of the brain. Towards evening, brain activity should normally slow down.
MODERN TIME
The modern era began, among other things, with the invention of artificial light. Mainly to give people more energy in the afternoon against sunset. People now read their emails late, do their homework on the computer or watch television until after midnight, without really realizing that it is actually already night.
DID YOU KNOW...
- 30% of all working adults in the United States and 44% of night workers sleep less than 6 hours a night on average. Fifty years ago that was only 3%. Shocking isn't it?
- Around the world, children rest an average of 1.2 hours less per night on a school night than a century ago
"Because people sleep less, they drink (much) more caffeine in the morning to stay awake longer. Which further messes up sleep patterns."
There are a lot of reasons why people don't sleep enough. Often it is due to school or work, long commutes, stress in your relationship to high consumption of caffeinated foods and drinks. But light is often an underestimated factor.
IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LIGHT FROM TABLETS, SMARTPHONES AND ORDINARY LIGHT?
Well and truly. All electric light affects people's biological clock but nighttime exposure to LED light, smartphones, labtops, computer, etc. disturb even more than "standard lights.
SHOCKING IMPACT OF ARTIFICIAL LIGHT ON MODERN SLEEP PATTERNS
IT INCREASES THE RISK OF:
- obesity
- diabetes
- heart disease
- depression
- strokes in adults
- concentration problems in children
That the decrease in the amount of sleep is affecting public health is clear. A good idea is to avoid putting your smartphone on your nightstand or using it as an alarm clock. Also look at the influence of a DECT phone or your WiFi network. For example, turn off the WiFi network at night and put your smartphone on airplane mode. And a DECT phone definitely does not belong in the bedroom!
Sleeping well starts with looking forward to your bed. With wonderfully freshly washed sheets and without electro smog in your bedroom.